Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles
by crestofawesome165
Summary: An adapted version of Naruto fitted around the Digimon universe, Tai is an orphan with a secret that threatens those around him at all times, not to mention criminals who try to capture his secret powers in this epic tale.
1. Episode One

**A/N: **Here's that screentest like story that I've uploaded for feedback on the idea itself.

Suggestions and comments are very highly appreciated.

Also, this will be different from Naruto, but that is kind of a given, isn't it?

Bit different from Digimon, as different people have the Crests to match the Jinchuuriki idea of being scattered as power balance.

NOTE: Small error during checking. Half the chapter the teacher is Zaku, and then Zaki. It is supposed to be Zaki.

…

_**Digimon: Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter One: The Crests of Sealing**_

…

_**The Digital World, a world surrounded and made physical by computer data from the Real World.**_

_**It has its own history, rivalling the otherworld's history in its calibre of intensity and strife.**_

_**Hundreds of years in the Digital World passed in an instant to the other, and Digimon, or Digital Monsters, grew strong, cunning and mischievous.**_

_**Some harboured a natural instinct for the total destruction of the world, making them siblings to Viruses that gave them life, attacking everything indiscriminantly. To counteract this threat of the Virus Types, the Digimon Sovereigns banded together and accumulated positive energy in the dismal, dying world to seal away these Digimon Demons, numbering at nine, within a seal of pure digital energy that would completely seal them away.**_

_**It worked, after 5 years of Digital Cycle toil, and with the aid of Phuanglongmon, the seals were created, and the Demons sealed away in 'Crests'.**_

_**7 Demons were recognizable by a given sin, their reincarnations coming down through the ages as the 'Seven Great Demon Lords', a footnote of what little data and power avoided their sealing. But two of them were recognizable as the strongest, recognizable by masks they wore, engraved with strange markings…**_

_**The Crests took the form of these two seals and became 'Courage and Friendship'.**_

_**Needless to say, with reincarnations and other virus types running amok, a defense system was needed, namely, children with the purest determination, entrusted with utilizing the power of the Crests to aid their partner Digimon.**_

_**This is a tale of how they discovered their Crests internal content, and fend for their lives against forces seeking to utilize the Demons power…**_

xxx

_The Hidden Terra Village laid smack-dab in the heart of the Land of Ember, one of the five great nations of the Digital World in which humans and Digimon lived together in harmony, the separation of the two become blurred over the years until a few humans got in generations ago, starting families and raising the population of humans who lived, fought and died with their Digimon companions._

_11 years ago, a hefty tragedy befell the village, as one of the Nine Demons escaped is imprisonment, but was quickly repelled during its attack on the Terra, and resealed by the greatest Tamer of the time, leader of one of the five great villages, the Fourth Senksha, or the Fourth Vanguard, in common tongue._

_Lord Fourth Senksha managed to defeat the Demon by resealing him as a Crest within a young boy._

_The village looked like a spliced version of an ancient Japanese village and a young city in Brazil; the houses ranged from annexes to all out towering apartment complexes. In the heart of the heart of the Land of Embers was a school, a school that taught the youngsters who were deemed capable enough to go through basic training as a Tamer._

_A Tamer is a human who over time has become so in sync with the data around them; they can merge with assigned partners to carry out missions ranging from silent theft to assassinations and even the conquering of countries._

_The Hidden Villages were founded on the blood, sweat and many tears of Tamers over the years, in coalition with their Digimon compatriots. Of course, leadership was needed in all of the villages, so the strongest became Senksha in the Terra, and other versions across the five nations. _

…

A thunderous laughter rained throughout the village, as carrying a can of half full yellow paint loosely as he ran away, Tai Kamiya, a young boy who wore goggles beneath his puffy chocolate hair and a blue training suit with white pocket and jacket rims. Paint splattered on his face made the smirk stick out even more.

"Tai, get back here!" one of the men in body armour garb yelled at him above the clatter of his sandals, "When I get my hands on you!"

"We should be allowed to chase you while on duty, Tai!" the other shouted much more huskily, "Painting stupid things on the sacred Senksha faces is forbidden!"

Overlooking the village from behind the residence of the current Senksha, the Third, was a large escarpment, and upon the hillside (albeit with smiles and blushes and worse painted on) were the great faces of all four Senksha, considered a village treasure.

In the Senksha residence, a towering red building with the Japanese symbol for Ember emblazoned on it, was an old man in white overall drapes with a red kimono showing within the coveralls.

"Lord Senksha!" another of the body armoured Tamers cried in a dojo hall, the old man ceasing his painting.

"What is all the ruckus?" He scorned kindly, his eyes narrowing, "And don't tell me it's Tai again!"

"It is Tai again!" the Tamer barked.

Another one entered from the folding paper door, "He drew faces on the honoured Senksha!"

All the Third could manage was a sigh as he reached over for his red and white hat with the Ember symbol, lighting a pipe as he walked out to organize clean up duty.

Meanwhile, still being chased, Tai ran through the streets like a mouse in a maze, knowing where to go almost on instinct. At the next turn, however, he hit something hard and went crashing back to the ground, clutching his forehead in pain.

Looking over him was an agitated man in his late 20's with a scar running across his nose and his spiked hair running back in a ponytail above his village headband, a vein pulsing at his temple, "You're supposed to be in class, Tai!" he yelled, dismissing the hunt with a simple thumbs up.

…

In the school, the 'Terra School of Tamers', in classroom 3-B, Tai was plonked onto the floor, facing his class with rope binding his hands and wrapping around his back. He had a distant, uncaring expression before the rows of students.

"Seriously, Tai, you're going to fail your examination if you don't take school seriously!" the teacher that apprehended him sighed as he wrote on the blackboard, "You failed the exam last time, and the time before that and yet you persist in these stupid-"

"Whatever you say, Zaku-sensei!" Tai dismissed amongst the stares of his classmates. Sora, one of the babes, was giving him a slanted glance, Mimi, the pink haired eccentric, giggled at this daily occurrence, Joe the brilliant yet lax student peered uncaringly at him, and the most despised of all, Matt gave him an uncaring, but also elitist look from his seat in the back row.

But Zaku felt himself snap; he turned back and threw the chalk beside Tai, "You think that acting like this will make a good Tamer? You really think this Academy of Tamers will let you pass the exam tomorrow and have a partner Digimon if you act like this?"

"What-ever~." He rebuked dismissively again.

Now Zaku was pissed, a throbbing at his temple making his vein stick out again, "Just for that, everyone will now practise the Transformation Technique through the afternoon!"

A loud moan resounded in the Japanese classroom, extend up all steps to the back row.

…

_Brief Tamer Notice: Techniques can be performed by Tamers without partners through a complicated process of altering the data that surrounds them from digital energy to an elemental or base technique, such as Transformation. It's all about manipulating the data around you!_

…

Now everyone extended in a wayward line of moaners, waiting for their turn to demonstrate the simplest technique a Tamer can have in the school, and Tai was three places from the front.

He heard his name in jitters down the line and from seated kids, aggravating him more as Sora Takenouchi stood forward in a red apron type attire, a red bow tying her long auburn hair into a ponytail.

"Sora here, sir!" she called out, assuming the proper handsign of Ram, placing two elongated fingers just over the other two outstretched fingers, her hands clasped, "Transform!"

There was a little smoke, but when it cleared, a second Zaku stood girlishly before the original, "Um… thank you, Sora…" he sheepishly said as she turned back, jumping up and down in celebration.

In her mind, a giant outline of herself surfaced behind her, "I kick ass!" the girl came back to reality, "Matt, did you see that?" she asked giddily, the boy taking no notice as he stood forward.

Tai was spectating quietly before a low, concurring hum sounded, Mimi voicing her complaints next to him, "We always pay for your screw-ups." She said bluntly.

Joe was behind her in the line, hands in pockets and eyes half sealed, "She's right, why'd you have to paint on the faces? Couldn't you have stuck to messing with shop owners?"

"Like I care what you people think is right and wrong." Tai defiantly said, his eyes focused on the shoulders of Matt, who de-transformed from Zaku and walked up the steps to his seat without a word.

Noticing that the next student hadn't come, Zaku summoned, "Taichi Kamiya!" a grunt from several classmates sounding out as he stepped forward with a rambunctious smirk.

A purple haired girl in a fur trimmed jacket looked on at him from an inverted stance, verging on crouching, a blush running across her face as she fiddled her dainty index fingers, _Tai… do your best…_

Even in her thoughts, she was a miniscule presence…

Tai stood proudly, his shoulders curiously high for someone of the class age group of 11-12 and other ages around that due to extraordinary skill or lack thereof. He assumed the Ram handsign quickly, making everyone think he would fumble immediately, but as he gave the shout of 'Transform' and the byproduct smoke was produced, they thought he had done well…

Standing there, butt naked before the class was a beautiful woman with great assets, completely exposed in a sexy stance. Some of the boys withheld their nosebleeds, and some of the girls were blushing so much they were on the verge of an aneurism, but Zaku had the worst reaction, as his eyes fell individually on her…

A loud, awful zip was heard as Zaku fell onto his behind, a double bleed coming from his nose and his face several shades of tomato red as he stood back up, tossing the clipboard aside as Tai turned back, ignorant to the female menace behind him as he hysterically laughed, tears in his eyes.

"Ha! That's my Sexy Technique!" he said between gut busting laughter, an angered face (with two pieces of paper in the nose) came to his and bellowed down at him.

"CUT THE STUPID PRANKS! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!" he shouted, making Tai droop in defeat with a loud ring in his ears.

…

_Brief Tamer Notice: Hand Seals used by Tamers to use techniques are the key to altering the environment and using advanced techniques to manipulate data to the caster's whim. The Seals are hand movements that can be thought of as being a hacker's encryption!_

_Simple enough, right?_

…

A few hours later, a golden glow emanating from the setting sun bleached the great faces on the hillside with large pockets of shadow, a small, lowered platform hosting Tai as he ferociously rubbed the Second's cheek to get rid of a cartoonish scar. Sitting atop the Second's head was Zaku, still agitated by Tai's stunt (although it proved he had the potential for creating his own techniques, a difficult task) and making sure he didn't run.

He needn't bother, as Tai was a student and not a Tamer, meaning he couldn't jump from great heights such as this safely.

"You're not going home until every speck is ringed out into that bucket!" he reassured down at the boy.

Defiantly sticking his tongue out, Tai closed his eyes and squinted, "Yeah, like I've got a mother to worry about me, or a dad to scold me!"

He was right… Zaku felt a sting at his heart strings; that depressing sentiment was one only Tai could use in the whole village. He deserved a break at least… a bit of motivation for such a mundane task.

"Hey, Tai?" he called down, itching his scarred nose. Tai gave him a half-cocked sneer as he looked up.

"What now, sensei?" he asked without altering his expression.

"W-well… if you hurry up, we can still make the half price udon deal at Ichibugin…" he trailed off, looking down to find an elated face.

"Now that's motivation! Do that more and I may even finish your stupid homework instead of burning it!" Tai chirped.

"What was that?"

…

The cleaning all done, Tai sat down in his favourite swivel chair in Ichibugin, number one store for freshly made udon in the Land of Embers. He liked the small, takeout look of the small store, and especially the owner, Renji and his teenage assistant daughter, Chiyo.

They have never and would never look at Tai like _that_.

Wolfing down what had to be his sixth bowl of udon soup, Zaku slowly made his way through his second, his eyes awkwardly looking at Tai and then running away to his bowl again.

He decided to start conversation over their dinner, "So, Tai."

"Hm?" Tai hummed in between slurps.

"Why would you do that to the Senksha faces? You know who the Senksha are, don't you?" he queried as he ate the small boiled egg in the centre of the soup concoction.

"Of course I know," the young boy said as he downed the udon soup down in a single gulp, "they were the greatest Tamers of their time; the best of the best, Tamer legends who performed in fights perfectly with their Digimon partners."

"Then why would you… if you respect them so-?"

"Because I shall surpass them all," he announced, pointing chop sticks at his teacher, "me, Tai Kamiya, the next Senksha; a Taming legend!" he pulled out a broad smirk, "and then everyone in this village will stop looking at me like I'm the plague and respect me!"

Zaku slurped a loose noodle from the udon into his mouth, his eyes cold as he thought, _That might be one dream that you can't achieve; especially you…_

"By the way, sensei," Tai asked, clasping his hands in begging, "please let me wear it. I want to get a feel for my new gear when I pass tomorrow!"

Zaku stared for a second, putting his vague sentiment together, "Oh, you mean this thing?" he said, clutching at his Terra headband, emblazoned with a jagged outline of a Japanese character for 'Ember', "no way! You can only wear this when you pass! I'm a teacher, not to mention a man of protocol!"

"Stingy," Tai said venomously, reaching out for his seventh helping of udon at his sensei's expense.

"Hey, hey! How much are you-!" Zaku looked at the pile of six empty bowls, "Tai!"

…

The next day, at the school, examination fever of jitters and rampant nerves making everyone introverted (apart from Joe and Matt, both acting pessimistically in the corner) ran amok. Tai's turn came all too soon, and he was led to an annexed room, Zaku and a colleague called Mizaki, a white haired man in the body armour attire, sitting in two rickety chairs, a table full of official headband in front of them.

Now Tai would take the exam; a pop quiz of a technique he had learned over his entire stay, as a way to ensure he was applicable with any technique at any moment. Zaku looked at his clipboard and found Tai's name beside the clone technique, information he relayed in a monotone manner.

Tai took a moment to recall what hand seal it was… Ram.

He had done that yesterday, and quickly clasped his hands in the seal's sign, focusing deeply and feeling his energy surge inside him as he called out, "Clone Technique!"

The smoke billowed intensely around him, but as the shroud lifted, slumped beside him was a ragdoll version of himself, a clown like expression on its deadpan face.

He stared at it, like the two judges, and finally raised his hand and ruffled the back of his bushy hair, "Uh… well… I've got my own technique; wanna see?" he looked pleadingly at the two.

Mizaki was smiling and was going to allow it, before Zaku screeched his chair legs across the floor, his face a deadpan like the clone, but serious, "YOU FAIL!"

"WHHAAA?"

Zaku sat down with a thud, Mizaki looking cautiously at him, "Zaku-sensei, surely if we see this other technique, he'll get special credit. It takes talent to create one's own techniques!"

Zaku grunted, "Don't get your hopes up; it's a simple variation of the Transformation Technique," he grovelingly said, blushing a little, "and it is not appropriate for the needs of a Tamer. He's got to face facts; he's failed AGAIN." He ended coldly, Tai staring angrily at him.

He started to tremble with ferocious anger as he heard the last utterance; the last syllable of the statement.

Not to mention Zaku shot him those eyes… those horrific, torturous eyes.

…

Tai was now sat down on the swing he rode on much of his pitiful childhood, the tree and brambles shielding patches of his face from the light. That helped a little, as he didn't want people to catch the twinkles of the water brimming at his eyes as he swung back and forth with his feet firmly ground onto the soil beneath him.

Beside him, at the entrance of the school, were crowds of whole families, crowding around their children and congratulating them all. Everyone had passed, but no one cared about the orphan sluggishly manoeuvring back and forth in the rope and wood swing like it was a rocking chair.

"Congratulations, son!"

"We have a genius in the family! Such a good girl!"

"Now you can join Papa on missions!"

Tai's eyes grew large, the light that once shimmered gone. Deep down, although he primarily felt lonely, he felt the pain and anger of his predicament more; anger fuelled him and made him think vicious, horrendous things upon those kids with all the luck as he ceased in rocking, his goggles atop his knee.

Two women passed by the rim of the crowd, looking for their children (presumably late arrivals) and they chided so lowly they may as well have spit in Tai's direction.

"Look, you see there- that thing is acting out." One said, conversely to what he was actually doing in a stiffened seat on the swing.

"I heard he was the only one who failed." The other input less harshly, but still like a bad neighbour.

"Tch, serves him right…"

"Can you imagine if they let that boy become a Tamer? The poor Digimon assigned to him would die- after all, he is-"

The rasping one ceased as she had a hand clamped onto her mouth by her friend. The woman stopping her had a bead of sweat falling down the side of her face, "Be careful, we're not allowed to talk about that!" she said as the pair slinked away, although slivered would have been more accurate.

Zaki had overheard this and stared with remorse at Tai as he adjusted his goggles to his forehead, before going still again. Mizaki appeared behind him seemingly out of nowhere and placed a kindly hand onto his shoulder, purging the petrification state as he looked back.

Motioning for him to follow, Mizaki left with Tai at his heels, no one but the Third and Zaki noticing. That proved that nothing would ever change around Tai.

The Third clamoured up to the teacher's side, blowing smoke from his pipe as he spoke, "Zaki, we must speak later about your dismissal of the boy."

"…Yes sir…" he grovelingly said.

…

Tai and the white haired teacher sat atop a building top, the two sitting opposite to each other on a pair of water pipes that ran across the roof, the golden tint of the dying sun bleeding away as they sat there.

Mizaki began, "Tai, you do realise that Zaki-sensei doesn't mean to rile you up or jibe at you, don't you?" he was met by awkward indifference, "listen Tai, just try again. If you fail at first, try and try again. Attrition is the path to success, after all!" he reassured.

Tai didn'tlook up from the roof dust at his feet, "But… I tried my hardest this time, and it still flunked as badly as my first two exams… even worse than my substitution that injured Zaki-sensei…" he mumbled weakly.

Mizaki silently pondered on how a substitution could possibly cause harm, it was just a replacement technique, after all.

Taking note of the blank desperation on the brunette's face, Mizaki finally said somewhat reluctantly, "Shall I tell you an easy way to pass? We need more Tamers with spunk and guts like you; unmoulded talent."

By the practically glistening beam of gold coming dimly from Tai's revealed teeth as he smiled hopefully at him, Mizaki figured he'd caught him into a ploy.

…

Zaki lay on his bed, the grime ridden window above his head a reminder that he needed to clean, as well as letting the dulcet moonlight embrace his face and allow him no rest. It was full, just like that night all those years ago, causing his eyes to close in remembrance.

… _It's getting closer!..._

… _Don't let it near the village!_

_Mom, Dad… what's going on?_

_Zaki, an evil Digimon has appeared, and we need to go help out with fighting it._

_No evil Digimon is stronger than you two!_

_You bet!_

…

… _What? Mom and Dad couldn't have… NOOOO!_

"Zaki! Zaki!" was the shriek that rattled him back, a rapping at his door leading him over like bait. As he opened the door of his apartment, a moon illuminated Mizaki stood before him, sweat peeling down his face.

"What is it?"

"It's Tai! He broke into the record chambers and stole the sacred scroll!"

"…T-" he was wide awake now, "The scroll of sealing and binding techniques?"

…

The elderly Third stood before a crowd of accumulated Tamers and their Digimon partners around the entrance of the Senksha residence, bustling with their outrage.

"-This time that freak's gone too far!"

"-It's time to end this little façade of pretending he's one of us!"

"-This time he's gotta die!"

The Third silenced them with a glance, and gave the order, "Alright, squadron one, proceed with scouting and report in when Tai is located. Scour!" he cut through the air, the Tamers and their partners vanishing with great speed and dexterity.

Zaki and Mizaki both headed off in the direction of the forest to the East of the village, their partners, Apemon and Shogunmon respectively, following closely with graceful leaps over, to and thro buildings until they both reached the forest, splitting into two groups in the search.

…

Tai was hard at work, heaving in and out in giant bursts of air, a giant scroll securely latched to his back by a belt that interlocked between his shoulder and his waist. In the forest, he currently sat resting against an old abandoned shack wall as he panted, a treading sound resting him from this cycle.

Zaki and Apemon looked down in deposed anger, "Thanks for the help in finding this fool, Apemon. I'll send you home now until the next summoning."

Apemon didn't speak, but gave a bulky bow, which on a tall being like him looked like a drooping of the shoulders. Smoke burst from where he stood, and he was sent home until next summoned.

"Game over." He said with menace.

Tai laughed in rebuttal, "Well, took you long enough. Mizaki-sensei said he would tell you about this personal exam as soon as he sent me to get the scroll!" he stated matter of factly.

"What?" he exclaimed in surprise, "Mizaki said that-?"

He sensed a disturbance in the air as he questioned Tai, pushing him aside as his senses piqued, feeling himself be pushed backwards by the force of several stinging throbs. By the time it ceased and he was against the wall for balance, he was bleeding from several puncture wounds from throwing knives; kunai.

Tai writhed from the strike that saved his life, and gaped in horror as he saw the blood trickling down his sensei's arm and body armour, countless kunai buried in him.

Looking up, Zaki and Tai spotted Mizaki standing, a fully blown grin sinisterly plaster on his face as he looked down at the two.

Zaki sneered and coughed up blood droplets, "S-so it was you… s-should have known. Is Shogunmon in on this too?"

"No, I sent him away; he's always hung up on honour and such garbage like that." Mizaki cruelly said against his absent partner, "Now, Tai, give me the scroll!"

"Don't do it, Tai! He's just using you as a proxy- a go between!" Zaki barked at the boy as he stood stiffly, said scroll still wrapped around him securely, "That scroll contains hidden techniques- deadly techniques that can be used to destroy our village!"

Tai braced and narrowed his glare with spiteful wrath at the white haired felon. When he began laughing indiscriminately, he shot Tai a particular maddened look that always riled him up.

"Oh, please! If I wanted to do something as miniscule as destroying this pathetic excuse for a village," he glared devilishly at Zaki, "wouldn't I just use the weapon in front of me? All I have to do is tell him the giant secret!" he teased.

Zaki clenched his muscles tightly. Such an insane proposal could awaken…

"Don't, Mizaki!"

"Tell me, Tai. Have you ever wondered why you have no family? Why everyone gives you this filthy glare like I am now?" he baited the boy with strange questions, "Well, the reason is the decree from 11 years ago that robbed Zaki of his parents."

Tai blanched and loosened up a little as he took a small pace forward, "Decree?"

"Oh, did I mention that you're the only one left out of the decree, just like how you're not welcome in the village itself?" he venomously said, squinting tauntingly at Tai, "Zaki is one of the adults that know… know that telling you brings a world of hurt, but I'll tell you, because I'm at least an _honourable liar_!"

"Don't tell him, it's forbidden!" the injured teacher belittled from his blood soaked footing.

"The decree is, no one can tell you of the Digital Demon that's infested your body, you are Lucifermon's sealed form!"

Lucifermon, a monster that destroyed half of the Hidden Terra Village eleven years ago…?

Surely the Fourth defeated him…

Probably by a seal…

These thoughts swirled in Tai's mind and brought eleven years of loneliness and pain to the surface at once, like an iceberg piercing the heart. It made sense now… his high temper, his energetic bursts of skill, speed and strength during exercise and especially soccer… it was because he was bequeathed a Demon Spirit's strength…?

Mizaki continued viciously, "C'mon, you mean you never wondered why people looked at you like they wanted you to go away? Die!"

Tai felt water at the back of his eyes and quickly surfacing, "N-no!" he screeched, tightening his muscles like armour from anymore as his anger surged. He was hated because he protected people from his past self?

Zaki pulled the final kunai from his shallow shoulder wound and looked on in dismay as energy surged within Tai and the air became thick, _Taichi…_

"That's why no one at the village respected or even acknowleged you; their parents even turned the kids at your school against you because of their looks!" Mizaki laughed evilly, "So, if you have feelings, what are you feeling now, rejected little Demon?"

Zaki doubled over to a surge in the kunai wound to his leg.

_Zaki… Tai is much like you were in your youth; you are a lot alike._

_Lord Third Senksha… _

_Tai is hurting so very deeply… even more so than you were back then. He goes through the streets alone, goes to an empty home and deals with issues on his own. How would you feel if you were at the heart of a grand secret, and people scorned you everywhere you went when you were an abundantly innocent orphan? What did you do to grab some attention?_

… _I got into hijinks, and I vandalised what was not mine to vandalise._

_For attention, I believe? Well, that is what makes you and Tai so alike; you both experience the same pain of loneliness, but he has not a single comrade to rely on. To get attention, he gets into… 'hijinks' just so people have to see him…_

"Die, Taichi Kamiya!" the wayward Tamer barked as he unfurled a scroll in his breast pouch and summoned forth a large shuriken.

Junior Tamers get to practise with weaponary…

Tai felt his insides drop as he stood still, awaiting the blow; his future was gone. His death would be a blessing to those pompous fools in the village.

He heard a strange noise and a whirring sound, signalling that the giant shuriken had been thrown, not that it mattered to him; the great Demon…

Blood splattered onto the soil beneath Tai, although the source was far different than what he'd anticipated.

Zaki was stood facing him. STOOD with a shuriken protruding from his back, and blood seeping onto the ground.

Tai froze before finally releasing timidly, "… Why?"

"Because, we're… a lot alike, Tai," his teacher said, shaking on his feet. He planted a hand onto Tai's shuddering shoulder as he explained between lurching, "When I lost my parents to Lucifermon, no one saw me; no one cared about the talentless orphan kid, they forgot my name. My grades in the school fell, and I did what you do, resort to pranks, that I had to pay for… it was so hard."

As he lurched forward with Tai's unyieldingly stiffened posture as ballast, he looked up. Tears smothered his face, and his nose was swelling red as he cried.

"I know that's how you understand the world, Tai. Your alone and it hurts inside, so very much… but the thing to people like you and me is that we never give up; we always try to impress our teachers and peers… I'm sorry I was so hard on you, I'm a pitiful excuse of a teacher… forgive me…" he finished meekly, falling to a mere whisper as his eyes started to truly flood.

The touching moment was interrupted as the rogue laughed from high in the tree he stood on, his head balled in his palm, "Don't make me laugh! Zaki despises you, just like the others! Let your anger feed you, and you can go attempt revenge on the village for all I care. I just want the scroll."

Tai lunged away from Zaki, prompting him to fall into the dirt and look on helplessly as Tai ran through a forest clearing, the scroll in his possession, "TAI!"

Leaping down and landing with dignity and grace, Mizaki straightened out and looked at his wounded compatriot, "Well, well. Did you see those eyes of rage and fire? It's been a decade since I last saw those eyes…"

"Tai is not Lucifermon! It's a seal, not a binding, you fool!" the tearful man rapturously thundered.

Unperturbed, the white haired menace walked past the helpless man, "What a fool you are… one I finish up with Tai and get my scroll, I'll use you as a test subject for my new powers." And with that, his rapid speed made him seemingly vanish as he leapt into the trees, chasing Tai. Shakily, Zaki stood too, and hastily gave chase, not concerned with the blood he was losing.

…

The Third gazed into a crystal ball that enabled him sight of the entire village and it's forests, almost like security. Currently, he was tailing Tai incredulously with the ball.

"Mizaki… what a fool. Daring him to tamper with that scroll. If he figures out how to unbind the seal, we'll all be killed!" he scorned inwardly.

…

Deep in the forest, leaping over trees with ease like a dog with all fours to aid his escape, Tai ran amok, just going wherever his instincts led him.

From behind, Zaki soon caught up, leaping to match his pace and jumping while bellowing, "Give me the scroll, Tai! Mizaki is on his way!"

Instead of listen, Tai ceased his course, Zaki turning mid-jump to see if he listened, but finding the boy in front of him, a gut-rending punch delivered that made him crumble to the earth below, Tai dropping down too.

Smoke billowed around 'Zaki', and his transformation technique failed, turning Mizaki back to normal, "How did you-?"

Smoke built around Tai as he slumped weakly against a tree behind him. The true Zaki was sat there, the obvious reason he knew being abundant.

"I see… you fool!" the white haired man yelled, "That freak destroyed your mother and father! No bodies were ever found! And now that we have a chance to finally purge the threat, you defend that freak!"

Zaki snickered, "Say what you like; you won't lay a finger on the scroll."

"I don't really need to- Tai will use it if I don't to seek petty redemption."

"What makes you say that?"

"He had those eyes; the Demon's fiery eyes!"

Zaki shifted against the tree, "… you may be right… those were the eyes; but Tai has too much willpower to be overcome, he tries his best, even against the hatred of everyone, that's one of the many things that separates the two! He's Taichi Kamiya, resident of the Hidden Terra Village and proud member of the school!"

Mizaki's eyes twitched and his vein bulged against his cranium as he used the scroll from his breast pocket to bring forth another shuriken, his eyes speaking for him, "You believe in such drivel? A beast is always a beast, Zaki. MAYBE YOU CAN THINK ON IT IN HELL!"

_So this is it… _

Before the shuriken began its path, a powerful pain shot through Mizaki's jawline as he shot backward from the momentum. Tai had delivered a firm understatement about his wrath, and the shuriken went off into the dark recesses of the forest.

"Not bad… short stuff," he hotly rebuked, a flash of red circulating around his bloody nose as he stood.

"If you ever. And I mean EVER, go near Zaki-sensei again- I'll kill you!" Tai proclaimed, slamming the scroll hilt like a gavel into the ground and letting it stand as he stepped forward.

"Big talk. I can obliterate you completely, you know."

"Take your best shot, reject. I'll hit you on thousand fold!" Tai adopted a strange hand seal, crossing two stretched fingers atop each other.

"I'd like to see you try- bring it on, Baby Lucifermon!" he shot back with anger in his tone.

"_Shadow Body Split_!" Tai yelled, a loud bang sounding and smoke encircling Mizaki and Zaki. When the injured tutor re-opened his eyes, he was stricken by disbelief.

Hundreds, maybe a thousand clones were in the trees, on the ground… everywhere. And they were solid duplicates, the clones, unlike earlier, had substance and were done right. He had mastered and advanced to such a level a technique only elites should be able to perform; outstanding!

The rogue looked from left to right, seeing no escape route, even though the trees that some of the clones were covering the ways with big smiles on their faces, "Wh… I- uh…"

"Well now, tough guy; let's do this!" all of the clones said in perfect synchrony as Mizaki fell back a pace, "Well, if you don't want first move, then we'll come to you!"

"NOOO!" reverberated throughout the sanctity and silence of the forest in the early dawn as sunlight crept across the ground, eventually reaching Tai and Zaki (who he was supporting with his shoulder), and Mizaki bloodied and bruised on the ground before them, twitching from the immense shooting pain throughout his body.

Tai looked down at him, the boy erupting with a chirpy chuckle, "Sorry… guess I overdid it, huh?"

Zaki, perched against the eleven year olds shoulder with his shallow wounds slowly closing up, looked down at the hapless youngster with reverence, _Tai… that was no small feat, mastering an elite technique that usually only the most experienced and skilled Tamers can master… in fact…_

"What is it, Zaki-sensei?" he asked as the teacher stood solidly without his aid.

"Hey, Tai, close your eyes for a minute," he asked politely, Tai sceptically obeying with a sour pout on his face.

He heard something ruffling, and then felt his goggles being pulled off of his forehead and over his puffy brown hair. Like a good, obedient student (for once) he didn't peek, even as something was tied around his head.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Zaki said, coming back into sight as his eyes peeled open and noticed a subtle difference, "Congratulations, graduate!"

Tai felt at the area of constriction; soft linen, topped at the forehead by a dinted metal, a symbol engraved; the Japanese symbol of Ember. It was a Terra headband, the symbol that Tai was now a Junior Tamer.

xxx

_Sora's Tamer Handbook,_

_Partner Digimon are given to Junior Tamers to be their closest ally, friend and sparring coach. Partners give the Tamers extra strength through partnership in battle situations at times that their techniques are lacking, making up for such a weakness with Digimon power!  
_

_As Digimon digivolve, it is a sign of maturity and strength on the partner's part as well, meaning they can become Journeymen class Tamers with their partners. Those willing can go for Elite Tamer status, but the team is seperate and the two become Elites and command their own squads of Juniors.  
_

_Digimon can be summoned at any time through a contract process, but I'm running out of time, so I'll cut out here!  
_

_Good luck, fellow Tamers!  
_

xxx

**A/N: **And there you have it, a brief test chapter for Digimon in the Naruto form.

Hope you enjoyed, lord knows I did.


	2. Episode Two

**A/N:** Wow, this one seems really popular; over 300 views in two days?

Well, here's another helping of the splicing Tamers adventure.

Oh, and yes, Tamers use ninja tools like in Naruto, including kunai and shuriken. Sue me for wanting it to at least resemble Naruto's overall plot and stylings.

…

_**Digimon: Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Two: New Rivals & Contract Signings!**_

…

_**Tamers, the quintessential element that manages the world's stability by balancing the chasm of power that has erupted in bloody wars between Digimon Tamers of the Five Great Nations. Currently an age of docile tolerance since the Third Great Tamer War twenty years ago swept through the Land of Ember and its cousin, the Land of Thunder.**_

_**Registering and passing the examination of the school in the Hidden Terra Village like Tai has now managed will see through to the formation of a 3 man cell, led by an Elite Tamer, known commonly as O'rin that is either Digital or Human. The three trainee Tamers are known as K'rin, and are appointed their Digimon partners, nurtured from hatching for the day.**_

_**The aim of the squad is to raise elite K'rin until the graduation exam to become T'rin comes about, in which displays of knowledge, decision making and power of the squad and their partners are shown.**_

_**Money is transacted by missions assigned to the squad by foreign lands or villagers; high end, dirty work is ranked higher and conducted by O'rin to garner the most income and keep the village afloat against the other four Hidden Villages.**_

_**An easy way to tell which level of Tamer the person is by the Digimon's classification.**_

_**Rookie and occationally Champion for K'rin, Champion and Ultimate for T'rin and Ultimate and even Mega for O'rin.**_

_**The Senksha and other village leaders are known to have Mega's.**_

…

The day after Mizaki's defection and prompt defeat, Tai was overlooked in the report filed by Zaki, as Mizaki had played on his emotions and used an illusionary technique to bind Tai to his will, capturing the now returned scroll (or so the falsified report claimed).

Now a Junior Tamer, a K'rin, Tai sat in school at his third row up desk, chin laying softly on his crossed arms, showing off his official headband to everyone, who had shown a little glance of surprise, but raised no quarrel about it; this was the first step to the rest of their Tamer lives, after all, so who cared about Tai?

Joe was passing by the third row in his slumped, hands-pocketed fashion as he noticed the flunk out, "What are YOU doing here, Tai? This is for everyone who didn't fail; everyone but you."

Tai's brow twigged to this and twitched, "Oh yeah," he lifted his head and holstered his headband with his thumb and index finger, "because it's totally possible to get a replica instead of your own." He snidely countered, squinting.

Joe, ever the relaxed narcissist, simply cocked his chin up to Tai, "Maybe you stole one from a T'rin."

"Do I look like the type who can defeat or sneak up on a T'rin?" he bantered, Joe losing intrest in this stagnant battle of wits and walking down the steps of the classroom, "That's what I thought."

…

Sora was not running late by any means, but she wasn't exactly going to be renowned for her un-tardy nature at this rate. Twenty four minutes and counting until she had to be at the school one last time for initiation and orientation duty. The school was twenty minutes away anyway.

Of course, the auburn haired idol of Tai paid no mind, her room coloured white with a mirror and a brimming cupboard and desk for study (not that a genius calibre girl like her needed it) with an immaculate floor. She was currently in her usual red get-up, affixing the headband to pull her hair back and show off her forehead while holding her shoulder length hair in check.

Once done, she assumed a model pose to her mirror and admired herself, before becoming marred by a frown line as her mother called through her door with a rhythmic rapping at the door, "Sora, are you sure you don't need me to start dressing you again? Orientation will have started before you get there!"

Looking scornfully at the wooden door, Sora defeatedly said, "I'm going now!"

But deep in her thoughts, her outlined version of herself (her stress outlet) came forth and rasped in her thoughts, _How long is she going to treat me like Mommy's Little Princess; I'm a Tamer now, show me some respect!_

oOo

Moments later, Sora was trudging at a heightened pace, all the while wearing a despondent face, _So, we're not kids anymore… and we'll be assigned to squads from now on… Oh, please let Matt be with me! _

Busy pleading thoughtfully, she stumbled through the streets on the way to school, but passed by the entrance of the Tachikawa Floral Services store, even worse because Mimi was staring at her in a purple apron like get up with elbow pads stretching a little far down to her wrists. She was staring ignorantly at Sora, who stopped for a few seconds before taking a brisk pace past the flower store and girl.

But Mimi was apparently a good power walker, as she caught up in an instant and walked side by side with the girl, a dense air of danger abundant through the streets as they passed.

Mimi began pleasantries with, "So they let you pass? They must really need some cannon fodder." She said almost expectantly.

Okay, maybe not so pleasant, so Sora counteracted with, "The school is ancient history, Strawberry," she jabbed at her hair colour (not literally, of course), "I cannot lose to you anymore; after all, I'll get personal lessons on improving myself to beat you by my new squad mate; Matt." She ended with a daydreamer's giggle.

"Really, because I think you'll lose Matt to me like you've lost everything else in out years together, Jack O-lantern," she jabbed at Sora's hair and slightly rounder head shape (again, not physically), "face it, you'll lose to me again."

"No, those days of me losing to you are over," Sora said, her brisk pace increasing into a restrained run a few paces ahead of Mimi, before the strawberry haired girl caught up with sourness, beginning a back and forth charge, the lead of the little challenge changing ever few seconds as dust rose into a straight b-line down streets and alleyways until they came within spitting distance of the school, beginning an all out, evenly spaced out race with no clear leader as they entered the corridors.

oOo

Everyone was now waiting for Zaki to arrive for the orientation, jitters and chatting with their friends interspersed across the classroom while Tai, Matt and the shy purple haired girl sat peacefully in their seats, doing their own things.

Several of the girls were sending lustful looks over to the cool, brash Matt as he sat there, staring from his back row desk with his fingers interlocked and his chin rested on them, his eyes piercing the front of the room.

Rumblings in the corridor behind the classroom's slide door roared out, followed by the grunts of anger from a pair of females as the door slid open with a thud, revealing Sora and Mimi struggling with each other to get inside, eventually squeezing through at the same time.

"I'm first!" they both announced in sync, slapping each other in the face with their outstretched arms as a sign of victory. After a disagreeing glare between the two, Sora carved a broad smirk on her face, Mimi's plastered with one as well.

"I win again, it seems." Mimi finalized with a huff.

"Really? I didn't think winners took the backseat at the end of a race." Sora rebuked with a hefty puff, her eyes falling to the bottom left as she panted, her eyes instantly focusing on the same thing as the rest of the girls (and following her, lovingly, Mimi) toward the indifferent Matt.

Tai mistook this like a fool to mean him, as he, although unbeknownst, was sat in the wrong place and was a few spaces away from Matt on the same desk. He felt blood boil in his face as he caught Sora's glare, looking away promptly in embarrassment.

Sora now ran toward the row, Tai's heart beating at a cardiac rate with each step she took, until she was right in front of him, her face several shades of pink, _Sora… the class babe, as far as I'm concerned!_

He stood foolishly to receive her, only to be barged past, getting pushed aside as she slid across the conjoined bench desk seats to the side of Matt, who retained his complacent look of uncaring semblance. Tai, regaining his composure and standing back up, grimaced as he brushed his three-quarter shorts, _Of course… my luck doesn't function like that; it doesn't function at all._

Back on Sora's end, ignoring the several pairs of insidious looks she was receiving from other females in the room, she was as red as a tomato as she stuttered her speech, "G-good morning Matt… how are you feeling?"

"Better than Tai," he said incredulously, diverting his gaze to Tai, who's back was turned as he brushed down, "and what is it that you want, Sora-?" he caught a set of eyes not based on Sora's shoulders.

She wasn't listening, "I-I was thinking that we could sit next to each other this period,"

"Something you want, loser?" he said to Tai, who he had caught gazing unintentionally.

Tai's anger surged as he stepped on the desk, walked over to Matt's section and huddled down in a crouch, just staring angrily at the blonde heartthrob with a squint, "What was that, Yamato?" he said with a rasp, knowing how Matt despised his full birth name, much like he hated 'Taichi'.

Sparks might as well have flown as Tai looked down into the calm allstar's eyes, Sora and several girls incessantly chanting.

"-Tai, get away from him!"

"-Loser, you can't look down on Matt!"

"I outta beat you!" was Mimi's distant input.

Tai continued the stare until he felt a push at his rear; a child sat in front had tried leaning back with his elbow rested on Matt's desk, pushing Tai into Matt and colliding, forehead to forehead, the two crumpling down to the ground beside Matt, both clutching at their centre of pain (although Tai was writhing).

As Tai writhed back and forth, he eventually felt a kick at his back; a weak, feminine kick. Looking up, Sora and several girls stood there with hate and intensity in their eyes down at the chocolate haired boy. As they cracked their knuckles, he knew what was coming and gave a small whimper, "U-um… Sora… all of you…"

"Tai…" Sora began, quivering and trembling with wrath even the Demon within Tai would fear (probably), "You're so annoying! Get away from Matt and me and sit elsewhere!"

…

After a few minutes of blood, sweat and figurative tears, as no girl shed any for him due to his stubborn aversion to death, Tai was plopped back in his seat next to Sora as reward for not telling Zaki on them as he walked in with his papers and saw Tai's face bruised because of female attacks.

Of course, they faded after mere minutes, and Tai was now back to being as vibrant as the minute before, only a bit quieter about Sora being bedazzled next to him by Matt who sat next to her.

Zaki began the orientation, "Well, to start off, everyone has done well to come here. As of today, you are K'rin, the bottom of the Tamer heap. I'll now start with the first of two parts this morning; introducing you to your Digimon allies. Remember this well; they expect and shall be given the utmost respect and will fight to defend you from threats on your missions from now on. So, with that in mind, we'll start off with class list order. When your name is called, come down to the front, and your partner shall enter through this door," he pointed to the bottom slide door, "greet them, and then take them back to your seat."

Tai grovelled a little in his bored seated position, _Sat next to a total babe who's about as sharp as a balloon, a borderline jerk and Zaki-sensei is still talking… it can't get worse, can it?_

"Also, as part of today's plan, you shall be assigned to squads, three man cells with your partners, and you shall meet your O'kin sensei in the afternoon period. Lunch is too be off the school site; you are to at least make a team-oriented pact with your teammates, whoever they may be. They could be the ones to keep you alive while on duty, after all."

Even the distracted Sora turned and looked dismissively, _Way to state the obvious; now let's get this over with!_

Zaki lifted his clipboard register as reference, "First up; Matt Ishida. Yes I know it's not in normal register, it's been randomized to see how you cope with pressure; now Matt, come on down."

Matt stood up stiffly, pocketed his hands in his shorts and squeezed past Sora and Tai, who gave very different sighs as he went by, _Cope with pressure? What does he think, that everyone'll back out or something? He can't admit he lost the register and just scribbled names down, can he?_

Matt reached the front, followed by female sighs. The slide door opened, revealing a short, yellow wolf cub creature with a wolf skin coat and a digital code engrave on his stomach.

Zaki explained, "We of the school decided that for a cool, level headed, talented student like you, Gabumon would be a natural choice; he's basically a digital reflection of you." He said as Matt and Gabumon went back to Matt's section of the desk.

Around six names later, Sora's name was called, the wily girl happily heading down and meeting her pink bird partner Biyomon, "We of the school thought that a Biyomon, a fire willed Digimon with its own shy nature matched up perfectly."

Finally, twenty names later, making him second to last, Tai's name was called, the boy standing doggedly up and walking toward the front amongst silent whispers surrounding him in the rows. Although riled up deeply by it, it didn't show as he beckoned with a tilt of his head to Zaki for his partner to come in.

The door slid open in almost slow motion to Tai's adrenaline fuelled tunnel vision. What is his partner was lame? What is it hated him as well? Worst off, what if it was a Gabumon; he wanted to be as different from that arrogant blonde as possible.

His eyes widened and time sped up as he caught sight of his partner. A smile came onto his face and he nearly released a wail of happiness as he caught sight of the orange dinosaur creature facing him. An Agumon was an incredibly rare creature nowadays; only 1/100 people had them as partners. They were fabled to have gone extinct but made a comeback and have been a rarity since!

Several moans filtered their way down, moans of displeasure at Tai's luck; some were silently a little underwhelmed, but still grateful for their partners. Tai stood up to hear the reason why. Zaki had to have had a fantastically intricate reason for allowing a rare Digimon to partner with the class failure, right?

He stayed silent for around ten seconds, and simply said, "He's a fiery soul, you're a fiery soul. Try to counteract each other and work well."

Well that was disappointing. Tai went back up to his desk with Agumon with judders in his spine. He had never been so lucky before!

Zaki, before reading the final student out, looked up at Tai and Agumon; both silently introducing themselves to each other. By the looks of it, Agumon enjoyed the child's company already, _It's not just that, Tai… this is on Lord Senksha's order; Agumon is one of the few vaccine types, so he'll counteract the thing, hopefully._

oOo

After the final child was done, a ten minute recess in the classroom to say hello and learn a little about their partners began, and passed by almost immediately. Time flew by as the children relayed their lives and in the girls' case, loves before Zaki clapped his hands, chastising the young pairs of their introduction time as he began squad read-out.

"Right, now it is time for your cell assignments. Remember what I said about respect for your mates; it could save your life while still a K'rin." Zaki forewarned, reaching for a loose sheet on his desk with what seemed to be a tree of some form from where Tai was sat, "Alright, Squad One,"

Tai cut out when several squads were ran through without his name called, Agumon looking at him expectantly, but retaining his silence as his elder Tamer read the names, _Three man cells, eh? As long as I'm with two people not called Matt, then I'll be fine. Hey, maybe I'll get lucky and Sora will be with me!_

Sora, clasped hands in prayer form beneath her desk, out of sight to all but a very disturbed Biyomon at her serious expression, as she conflicted in her mind with intensity, _I will be on Matt's squad! I've been using lucky charms and using rituals for this! My horoscope says I'm lucky, so that's that, Strawberry!_

Matt simply remained quiet, Gabumon acting as cool and stiff in his seat next to the blonde as possible while Matt thought decisively, _For me, only one man is needed. Gabumon seems capable and calm, so that should be enough; why drag two losers along?_

"-Next, Squad Seven!" Zaki called out, reading through with pauses, "Tai Kamiya, Sora Takenouchi!"

Tai felt his happiness implode inside him, but Sora slumped in her seat, her stomach dropping, _I'm with the idiot?_

"-And Matt Ishida!" Tai's elation soon left as quickly as it came, slumping into his palm against the table while Sora wanted to leap up and dance on the desk as the girls stared vilely at her from all directions.

_I'm with that loser? _Tai thought, depressed.

_Two out of three isn't bad! If I have to deal with Tai to be near Matt, so be it! _Sora chirped inwardly, apparently having absorbed Tai's elation.

Tai lifted his hand in a questioning manner, Zaki looking rather misplaced as he looked at it, "Um… yes, Tai?"

"Why am I with that blonde wannabe when I'm elite on my own, Zaki-sensei? Isn't that unfair to him to be put on the same squad as me?"

Zaki sighed and rubbed his eyes with his pinching fingers before looking Tai in the eyes again with the words he needed compiled, "Tai, Matt was specifically placed on your squad to give you a rival; he had the best grades in the exam while you flunked with the lowest grades. So what were you implying?" he put in a rather harsh tone.

Sora piqued to Tai's shot at her crush and (under the table) gave him a stiff jab to the calf, making the boy yield in pain.

Matt added lowly without averting his forward gaze, "Try not to be a burden, dunce."

Zaki gave a stressed sigh as he moved on to the announcement of the next squad assembling, _It'll be alright… it'll work out itself, especially with him as their assigned O'rin._

…

Twenty minutes later, the lunch period began, and the newly compiled squad separated to bond and try to iron out any past issues during their childhoods. Squad Seven on the other hand was divided, walking around separate of each other, waiting for the lunch hour to pass as they bonded with their Digimon partners instead.

Tai was sat atop a building, leaning against a guardrail toward the edge, a sweet bean pastry in his mouth while Agumon ate the same animalistically by gnashing away with both hands holding in the crumbs from escaping his large mouth.

"So, a fire type… that will mean we have the advantage of raw power as a team, Agumon!" Tai ecstatically envisioned.

Agumon took a more complacent stance, "Listen, Tai. We're on a team, and we need to strengthen our skills if we want to become O'rin in our own right!"

"Yeah, but that team stuff seems impossible considering Matt is on the squad; this seriously sucks!"

Agumon finished his pastry and thought it over, _Maybe if he pulled a prank or something on this Matt, he'll be able to work with him; he seems to have a childish grudge, might as well get rid of it now…_

Tai caught him staring up at him, not the clear sky, "What is it, Agumon?"

"If I help you pull a prank on Matt, will you put this childish stuff aside so that we can focus from now on?"

"Maybe," was his immediate response, but it was better than nothing, the orange dinosaur mulled.

"Well, first of all, you'd need to get Gabumon away from him; he's his partner like you are, but in a more connected way, if you understand what I'm saying."

oOo

Meanwhile, on a not to distant building top eating their lunch with their Digimon was Mimi, Joe and a chubby friend of his called JP, who wore a blue jump suit with baggy shorts over the top and a green jacket and white scarf. Their partners were Palmon, Gomamon and a small, overweight dog type Digimon called Dakimon respectively, eating on the other end of the roof area.

"Alright," Mimi began with a firm, boss-like tone that radiated introverted vibes, "if we're a squad now, you follow mine and Palmon's orders to the dot; is that clear?" she said rhetorically.

"This is tiring," Joe said discontentedly, _Besides, women go insane and inane if you refuse them control. Men are all doomed to become subservient to women. My dad's the very definition of 'whipped' by a girl like this!_

JP was tucking in rather happily into a small bag of potato chips with a snicker, "If you're wanted my recognition as leader, than lead me to some barbeque." He commanded inbetween gnashing.

Mimi slapped her forehead, "Why me? Why not the Jack O-Lantern?"

Joe diverted his gaze down to the street level, noticing Agumon and Gabumon walking alone toward a nearby soda machine. He remembered them distinctly because of how rare they were, especially the dinosaur based creature. Looking up, he spotted Matt on the parallel building, around two floors down glancing out of a window while ingesting a sweet bread pastry.

A little overhang of gutting, supported by a small tiled surface suddenly began to shake in a silent motion, caused by Tai's silent glancing across the small overhang toward Matt's window.

"Tai." Joe simply put, his two teammates refocusing and looking down at him as well as he crouched beneath the window.

They were all stunned in their own ways when Tai leaped through the open window and colliding into Matt as the wooden shutter cracked shut behind him, obvious noises of a struggle wringing out through the wood.

Mimi snapped, "Tai, if you dare tear a single hair of his glorious head, you're my personal enemy forever!"

As she finished threatening the air, the struggle apparently was settled, and the wooden panel reopened without a single voice of quarrel, Matt leaping out with the same arrogant expression on his face as Mimi chuckled lovingly with a red streak on her face.

"See? Tai can't hope to touch my Matt!" she dreamily declared as Matt leaped down with grace into the streets, beginning to run full pelt in a pre-ordinated destination, odd for someone who was just eating without a care in the world.

…

Sora, meanwhile, was sat with a sullen look on a bench that sat dead centre in a park path, both sides of the path engulfed with intensive trees and flowers. Biyomon wanted to ask her the problem, but after failing for the last thirty minutes, went to get a snack for the downtrodden girl (her partner, who is supposed to entrust everything to her, by the way).

With half the lunch hour already passed and no progress made toward Squad Seven's relations, the afternoon period of meeting their O'rin sensei and sealing their contracts with their partners (that allows summoning at any given time on either end). But the girl wasn't sad and quiet because of the blood sealing that was custom, but a far more introverted and girlish reason.

_Matt's on my team, just like I wanted… but how do I go about it? _She pondered, _Do I tell him straight up, or wait until we're on a mission and try to talk to him alone…?_

Her brown eyes peered up from the cobble stone ground to a tree across the pathway, Matt stood there, staring with a smirk on his face and a strange, abnormal gaze.

Sora felt her heart flatline and then begin a rapid pulse, _Bedroom eyes~! Dirty boy, we're too young, we have to take it slow-, _but she had to face reality, _yeah right… my luck got me him, but also Tai; something else is bound to go wrong… I'd love it if he came over with a sweet remark like 'I love your unique hair colour; it's so attractive compared to other girls!'_

She inhaled and exhaled, numbing herself as a pair of sandals came into her view of the ground, "What beautiful hair… I love your unique hair colour; it's so magnetic compared to other types!"

A large thump was pounding in her chest, _It… it's not exactly what I-I said but…_

oOo

The defeated writhed in his bindings, rope chafing his wrists and tape blocking his muffled, anger fuelled exclamations. Matt struggled in a dimly lit room, the shutter having been re-shut by a slight breeze.

Matt's eyes were narrowed and the bridge of his nose upheld anger brows so low they formed an arch, _I got to careless; before I'm sure he couldn't make physical clones, even I can't do that… who would've thought he had the spunk! What's that rat doing, using the transformation technique to pass off as me?_

oOo

Tai, disguised surprisingly well as Matt in transformation, plunked himself ever so closely to Sora on the bench, placing his arms as a rest on his bent knees, "Sora… I've been thinking over the last few minutes… maybe we should talk and see how well we know each other."

Sora felt her facial temperature skyrocket, "S-sure thing, Matt…"

"First of all though, I'm not entirely sure… what do you think about Tai?" he asked abundantly, but still mimicking Matt well enough to make her compile an answer as she lowered her head with a dense sigh.

"He's… always getting in my way, no matter what time, place or need; especially around you. He knows fully about how I feel, and yet he persists in his stupid pranks to try and separate us… I don't trust Tai on the team as far as I can throw Agumon. He's a pest." She said rather harshly.

Tai's throat tightened, and his anger swelled inside of him as he stared at the girl who had (unknowingly) dismissed him as a pest to his face. But when the auburn beauty looked anxiously up to his transformed face on that bench, it all leaked out and he couldn't manage speech or a reprimand, not now.

Tilting her face forward and puckering her lips, Sora timidly asked, "Please, I'm desperate for your approval, and _your _approval alone…"

Tai couldn't help it, his body began functioning against his will, leaning forward like his own desires overruled his mind as he came, inching closer and closer to the girl and…

"Tai, I've got a score to settle with you!" Matt shouted across the way, running towards them from up the path. Sora had her back turned to face the second, legitimate, Matt Ishida as Tai quickly sped away with silent paces, Matt giving a low chide as he stopped and watched Tai cross around the corner, smoke trailing him as proof of his dispelling the technique.

Sora, ever the haughty genius girl, looked at the real Matt with an ashamed look on her face; she had nearly been tricked by an idiot!

She broke the silence with a meek exclamation, "How did you get here in time to save me Matt?"

He looked at her, aghast by her robust outburst, "Save you? I just used the rope escapology we practised last month; it wasn't hard. Now I need to settle my score with that idiot Tai." He mumbled evilly as he strafed past her in Tai's direction.

Sora was so aggravated by that little incident; no, calamity! How dare Tai try something like that after she unwittingly revealed her feelings to the transformed him, "Well, give that little idiot a good old punch from me. He's always messing with me and you and always gets in everybody's way! He's a good for nothing brat! I think it's because he grew up alone!" she ended with a snide snort, assuming an all knowing, cross armed stance as Matt abruptly stopped on the path and glanced over his shoulder, an frosty eye going unnoticed by the girl.

"You mean… because he has no parents; no family?" he said, warning slithering along his tongue like a viper, coiled to strike.

"Exactly! He has no one to tell him right from wrong! That's why he's gone all these years with these stupid pranks to mess with others like a childish brat! He's _so _introverted!" she huskily judged.

_What a hypocrite! _Matt thought, his blood boiling inside of him, "Alone, devoid, whatever the word you use, it will always describe kids like Tai being brats; it's part of life. You have no idea what it means to be alone, and luckily, I haven't experienced his anguish thanks to my little brother."

"W-what are you talking about?" she spouted with arrogant worry in her question.

"I'm saying that you're a goddamn pest!" he sickeningly twisted, turning his back on the girl and leaving her with a vehemently bewildered expression.

oOo

Back in the classroom, two hours later, the three tried to forget the incident (they didn't mention it, truth be told) and had been waiting for their apparently tardy O'rin sensei who was supposed to administer the blood contract sealing (all the other squads had done this as they watched, meaning they'd seen a lot of blood to startle a haemophilic).

The six humans and Digimon were about to go to the faculty office in the school, but remembered that the O'rin was running so late that school faculty had… adjourned for home and scouting duties around the village.

But the young Tamers got a shock as the slide door finally began to slide open, but revealed only JP, who went to his old desk and removed a bag of beef jerkey before leaving again, which made something in Tai snap.

He walked over to the blackboard in a huff, grabbed the eraser and began to plant it in an arch created with the slide door, the door sliding open again before anyone could question his stupidity. Unfortunately for Tai, no eraser fell on the O'rin, as he seemed to be a sizeable man who seemed to radiate battle and therefor reflexive experience. After picking the eraser up in his bear like hand and planting it back at the blackboard without a word, they got a look at him.

He was around 6''2' with short, kempt spikey black hair, a pair of shades indoors and a blue trench coat he kept open and loose, flapping around his calves while he wore the regulated body armour gear under the coat. Around his neck was a perched weasel Digimon called Kudamon, a white ferret with digital code and an earring as accessories on his tiny, slender body.

His voice was surprising light and audible, but dark in a strange kind of controlling way, perhaps signs of commanding experience on life or death battle fields as a Tamer in foreign lands.

"Sorry I'm late. Come with me, and we'll begin the contractual process."

…

Squad Seven in its entirety relocated to the garden balcony area of the school, three floors up with a great overview of the gate. The O'rin and his Digital ally took up that view by firmly sitting against the guardrail at the foremost point of the balcony while the K'rin sat solemnly in relaxed but serious postures beside their Digimon on the red cushion seats fitted around the curving balcony.

Before the O'rin could begin as he drew breath for his speech, Matt inclined, "Isn't an O'rin, regardless of species, meant to be separated from their partner to become a pair of equal co-working O'rin?"

The man looked at him, his ferret compatriot looking on sullenly at the kids and their Digimon from his shoulder perch, "Our team is a… unique allowance by order of the Senksha himself. It's far beyond what you mere K'rin deserve to know since your bottom of the heap."

Matt's nostrils flared in a brief flash of anger, and he assumed his cool pose from the classroom in the morning, placing his elbows on his knees.

"Right, now that that is taken care of, I suppose we should introduce ourselves individually as the first order of business," he said, reaching into the back of his trench coat. By the silhouette, it was assumed by the three that it was a regulation pouch all Tamers had to wear once beginning missions. The man pulled out three scrolls with the Japanese symbols for 'CONTRACT' insignia on them, but rather than hand them over, he held on until Sora cut in.

"Um, sensei?" she asked, getting his attention, "Could you do it first to demonstrate what we need to do?"

Pondering it for a moment, the O'rin mentally concurred, "Alright then; my name is Satsuma Rentarou, an O'rin of the Hidden Terra Village. This is my assigned partner, Kudamon, who you needn't know about considering your position. My hobbies include being the best at what I do, and I despise arrogance."

Sora blanched, '_The best at what I do' isn't a sign of arrogance, Satsuma-sensei?_

"Your turn, let's start with everyone's favourite prankster." He diverted his eyes to Tai behind his glasses.

Tai took heed of the call, "I'm Tai Kamiya, a K'rin of the Hidden Terra Village. This is my newly introduced but great friend and partner Agumon; my hobbies are eating lots of udon and pulling pranks in all honesty, and I don't have any dislikes I'd really feel comfortable talking about, but I have a simple dream. I will become the greatest Senksha so that people won't look at me with scorn and look up to me."

Satsuma jolted a little, narrowing his eyes behind his tinted lenses and curving a small smirk, _None he'd like to discuss, eh? I can understand that sentiment, so I'll let him pass on that one. _His eyes and Kudamon's then rested on Sora and Biyomon, "Alright, you next young lady."

Sora straightened up, shot a fleeting glance that wilted away as she quickly blushed and pulled her hands to cover her face like a mask, "I'm Sora of the Takenouchi clan, a K'rin of the Hidden Terra Village. My hobbies are…" she stumbled in speech and batted her eyes, "I mean my hobby is to watch… My dream is…"

Satsuma and Kudamon followed the blazing trail of love her eyes formed by looking at Matt's face from the side. They both sighed vehemently, feigning tiredness by rubbing their eyes with hands and stubs.

_Girls of this age group are usually succumbing to hormones; a great disadvantage on the battlefield… _Satsuma adjusted his shades before moving on, "Sorry, Biyomon, but I have to make this short. You next; that mark emblazoned on the back of that jacket intrigues me."

The mark he was talking about, printed red and white against the blue background of the jacket was a yin-yang of two juxtaposed colourings, red and white. It was the clan symbol of the ancient and respected ancestors of the Ishida clan in the Terra Village.

Still striking his cool pose, Matt coldly answered like it was a calculated part of the day, "My name is Yamato Ishida, although I prefer Matt. This is my partner from this day forth, Gabumon, one of the strongest Digimon I've ever seen by just looking into his eyes. I have many dislikes, and I hate almost everything. I tend to keep to myself, as I find solace in my loneliness; but these vapid girls," he shot a quick, dirty glance at Sora, who flinched, "and as for dreams, I don't believe in them and hope. There is only a single path for me, and I will take it. I will restore the honour of my clan, and avenge my brother and my own against a certain… person." He finished with a rasping tone, similar to a low hiss.

Tai lowered his gaze, _He's insane. Sure hate to be the one he wants revenge on._

Sora softened hers and turned light pink, gazing at him in awe, _Is it just me, or did his coolness factor just skyrocket? _

Kudamon and Satsuma tensed a little, the little ferret thinking on the same wavelength as his human partner, _Just as we assumed from the briefing this morning._

…

"Right, on to the contract sealing," Satsuma clapped, placing the three small scrolls on the ground and unfurling them so that it was one on top of the other without any overlapping. Inside all three, binding markings that formed a discreet square were based around a clean spot, each of the squad's K'rin names recoded on each, their partners listed below in small font, "this is in two stages; first off, hand seals of Horse, Boar, Bird and Dog must be given, followed by a firm planting of your blood laced finger tips onto the free space in the parchment."

He handed around a small knife, with which he ordered a small incision into the thumb, letting it bleed and then scattering blood droplets on the other fingertips of the right hand before beginning the sealing.

The assigned seals performed, Tai slammed his bloodied tips into the parchment above his and Agumon's names, removing his fingers to see the blood realign itself on the parchment, forming two kanji; PARTNER SEAL.

After Sora and Mat performed the ritual sealing, and their blood formulated their binding contracts, Satsuma input, while picking the rolled contracts up, "Why not test it out? Agumon, go to the lower levels please," a minute passed as the junior Digimon obeyed the O'rin, "now Tai, perform the seals I just taught you, slam your palm into the ground and say 'summoning technique'."

Tai obeyed like a boyscout, fumbling the seals at first try, earning him a smug chide by Matt. That spurned him on, and he performed the seals in perfect time for a K'rin, "Summoning Technique!"

The Tamer retreated a pace as the smoke rose, and with the billowing gas gone, Agumon was revealed, holding a soda can that he cracked open with his claw and guzzled to the astonishment of the two girls present. All three of them could do it now.

The O'rin gave them little time to celebrate, coughing to garner their attention to the rail he sat against, "Now for part two. All of you, please try this. This is a cooked up trinket of the Science Department for Junior use to get the most battle data out of it."

He handed three strange devices to them; they were like small square terminals with curved inward corners and a signal receiver at one of the corners. Sora looked at her sensei in apparent confusion, "What are these things, sensei?"

"A new type of tool for the common Tamer, said to improve Junior K'rin life expectancy by recording battle data and sending data waves to your Digimon without you noticing, making Digivolution easier on you three youngsters, while me and Kudamon toiled for years to achieve it." He said disappointedly with an exasperated sigh.

Kudamon led on from there, "It's a Digimon amplifier of sorts… I'll explain it in detail some other time, but right now, it is simply for the use of K'rin. It's known as a Digivice."

"Cutting corners, are you?" Tai added with a sour tone.

"Fine, Taichi Kamiya, keep up. Digimon battles and Tamer battles are recorded on these devices, and the data is transmitted constantly to the partner Digimon and acts as a source of knowledge for the human. Simply put for you, if a Rockmon attacked either you or your partner with Rock Ball, an offensive strike, you can perform it with hand seals, and your partner, rather than gain the attacks as it is unnatural, gains knowledge and a little power, meaning they can Digivolve easily. Clear?"

Tai held his sour pout routine, "Was that so hard, Kudamon-sensei?" he said childishly, _I understood very little of that, actually…_

Satsuma cut the chit-chat short with a hubris, looming face, "Regardless, I want to inform you that your final exam for becoming K'rin for real is tomorrow morning. I want you to prepare yourself by packing all of the required Tamer gear and weapons, but don't eat breakfast, I don't want vomit on my boots, it is a survival challenge, after all…"

Tai and Sora stammered a little before hearing that, "Say wha-?" weren't they doing all this because they did become K'rin?

What was going on here?

xxx

_Sora's Tamer Handbook,_

_Energy used by human Tamers for techniques to attack and defend during a battle situation is not usually referred to as being digital energy, but is called by Tamers and many Digimon 'Chikara', the apparent word in the ancient tongue from the old world our ancestors descended from!_

_Chikara is used in a multitude of ways, but is separated into the three basic forms of Tamer powers that other forms branch from. They are Tekina, the physical art, Genina, the apparition art for elemental techniques and Seiina, the psychosis art of mind control and perception twisting._

_That's all for this time, K'rin! _

_See you all soon, too swamped right now with missions with Matt, Satsuma-sensei and… uh… Tai… why me…?_

_Sora_

…

**A/N: **And that is how the Digimon Squad Seven was assembled. The story will begin to become different but still premised on Naruto and (god willing) Shippuden.

Yes, their sensei is the commander from Data Squad. Other faces from the franchise shall be returning individually as well!


	3. Episode Three

**A/N: **Here is another prescription of Tamer action in the world of Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles.

As stated before, many characters from Digimon shall be adapted into the story, including such characters as Oikawa and Yamaki in adult roles. In addition, Chosen of several seasons will be seen being placed into the story as K'rin. Very few OC K'rin.

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Three: The K'rin Overrun! Power of Satsuma!**_

…

_**The Tamer world has been subject to several conflicts over the years, and as such, the greater the skills passed on through the generations in the village, the more tools that were crafted to aid them in battle, such as kunai, shuriken and explosive tags created through sealing techniques.**_

_**This year, all current K'rin are receiving an experimental device called a 'Digivice', a data amplifier aimed at the hastening of power increase and techniques humans can use in accompaniment of their Digimon, who are as a by-product capable of faster Digivolution. This year it was chosen to be subject to a project amongst K'rin, who are in training, rather than T'rin and O'rin, who are constantly on the move during high rank missions.**_

…

_K'rin Reference Book_

_Taichi Kamiya_

_Age: 11_

_Family Unit: N/A_

_O'rin Sensei: Satsuma Rentarou and Kudamon (Special Case)_

_Missions Completed: 0 D Rank, 0 C Rank, 0 B Rank, 0 A Rank (S Rank N/A)_

_Conclusions: A hotheaded young K'rin, but determined to improve himself, training to the point of learning the secret technique Shadow Body Splitting._

…

"Final exam?" Sora repeated, monotone.

Tai squinted again, "Really? Are we good enough to make the cut or not?"

Kudamon spoke up to the youngsters, "Did you really believe everyone graduated in your class and became K'rin like that? This exam weeds out all of those who don't embrace the ways of Tamers, regardless of species. It is not like any survival exam in which you are situated in the woods or anything like that; just a simple battle against either me or Satsuma, that is the only choice you have in the matter. But be forewarned, this exam has a 66% failure rate, so out of the students who passed, only 9 shall become K'rin; three squads like yours."

Tai peeled his lips back across his teeth, "Then at least explain why we have to do this sort of exam if we have already completed the K'rin survival exam!"

"Because," Satsuma began firmly, "I want to individually rate your prospects and talents in the old fashioned way. I won't disclose anymore, but come to the assigned spot tomorrow, over at the old training area #3."

Before they could voice their objections, the O'rin walked right past them and through the entrance into the school from the terrace, leaving the squad bewildered.

oOo

The next morning at 10 o'clock on the dot, the three had gathered, all looking drowsy alongside their equally sleep deprived Digimon; took time to adjust to sleeping next to something of a different species, right?

Satsuma appeared in the tree line, walking straight to the gathered plethora of three K'rin level Tamer teams and standing stiffly in the wide open area in the forest, a clearing manufactured by years of wear and tear, building up the techniques of Tamer legends like the Senksha.

"Well, you all made it after all, and without eating as I instructed; a loyal group of K'rin, if nothing else."

Sora, although shaky, retorted, "You – our sensei – is insulting us? What gives you the right?"

"Which one of you idiots tried to get me with an eraser?" he said broadly, silencing her, "now, first of all, which of us do you choose?"

Matt spoke up for the group, as the others were too tired to even speak very loudly, "You, Satsuma-sensei, at least with a human, we know you won't evolve to higher levels in the middle of the fight."

"You talk as if I need to change at all; I can beat you all in this form," Kudamon chuckled, gracefully leaping to a nearby tree stump. Next to him were another two, making three in total stood alongside each other, a small ravine running behind it into the heart of the forest from its mountainous source.

Matt snorted, but let the chide slip as he asked, "So what exactly is the challenge? Do we just fight you to display our powers as Tamers?"

Satsuma reached into his open trench coat and pulled out another three scrolls; the ones from yesterday that were used for the sealing, "These are what you are vying for; show me that you are strong enough to steal them back from over there," he pointed to the centre stump, "oh, and there are two rules for this. You must have stolen them back within three hours of this exam beginning, or you go without lunch and fight me until dusk, in which case you fail. Also, there will be only two capable of passing this exam if the scrolls are not taken within the first half of the exam, meaning one will fail as punishment for failing to steal them from that spot."

Tai let out an acid laugh, "You think you can stop me and Agumon?"

"Well, considering who is threatening me with defeat, I do." He confessed.

Tai took a second to calculate that one. His nostrils flared as he went into his Tamer pouch slung around the hip to his rear, pulling out a glistening kunai he held in a forehand grip, tromping forward and preparing to throw it before he felt an irresistible force clutch his wrist as it went taut over the back of his head, pushing it toward the brunette's crown while another hand clenched his other shoulder in place.

Satsuma's heavy trench coat flapped around, making it appear like a shadow had suddenly appeared behind Tai. Dust and dirt rose from where he now stood, suggesting that the earth itself had no time to brace itself.

Matt took a pace back and caught his suspended breath, _Such speed…! And he's a human Tamer, not a Digimon. This really is an O'rin who has trained beyond physical perfection!_

Sora shrieked a little in surprise and raised her hands to defend herself in reflex, _Now I can see where the challenge comes in, he's faster than most Digimon!_

Their sensei, literally towering over Tai like an obelisk from behind with his improvised hold that threatened to kill him actually gave a small smile that contradicted his personality, "Good. If you don't come at me with the fire to kill me like Tai just had, you'll never succeed! I might actually like you guys a little now," he muttered softly as he released Tai, the boy swirling his arm to get rid of the numbness.

Matt cocked a half-blown smirk, "And I guess you will be trying to stop all six of us with the same intent, right? What will he be doing?" he pointed to the ferret Digimon who was tightly curled in a ball on the top of the centre stump.

"He'll be observing and acting as a time keeper; don't worry, it'll be just me. Any and all techniques are allowed, as I'll be using my own." He draped his arm across his chest and made a slashing motion, "Scatter!"

…

The six enemies scattered themselves amongst the lush woodland surrounding the training area as Satsuma scanned the area quietly, _Well, they all seem to understand basic concealment… now… where will the first attempt come from…?_

He heard a loud tromp in front of him.

"You and me, right now!" Tai barked with his arms crossed to assert his seriousness. Agumon was still hidden in a nearby tree, rubbing his eyes and lamenting letting Tai run out of his hiding spot.

Across from Agumon in a higher tree, his back against the bark and his head turned to get a good look over his shoulder, Matt raised an eyebrow, "Is it possible that fool has a plan… scratch that, I forgot who I'm talking about." He concluded, getting a small wisp of a chuckle from Gabumon on the branch below him.

"You know, in comparison with the others, you're kind of weird…" his sensei released, his shoulders dropped.

Kudamon gave a laudable chortle, "Hey, I respect his spunk; give him that, Satsuma."

Tai ignored the ferret and charged straight toward his sensei, "The only thing weird is your shades!"

The O'rin clutched at his heavy trench coat, tossing it away high into the air like a dark cloud blemishing the sky, revealing fully his vest and Tamer pouch, which he rummaged through, causing Tai to abruptly stop, "I guess I'll use you to demonstrate one of the three human Tamer disciplines; Tekina, the physical art."

Tai clenched his fists in preparation, _That's physical combat; hand to hand! Why is he going for a weapon…?_

Pulling it before him like a flash of lightning, a small journal like book with 'THE GREAT TALES OF THE AMPHIBIAN SAGE' inscribed on the front atop a yellow background and some blur. Tai's eyes laxed to huge spheres and he cocked a curious brow, "What the heck is that meant to be…? Some kind of technique book he keeps or something?"

His eyes rolled over to the stump atop which the three scrolls sat, held by Kudamon who would pass them out if they succeeded. Was he letting his guard down a little with a stupid book?

"Oh, this? It's an autobiography of my idol on his travels and successes. Don't worry, your feeble attacks can't hope to disrupt me, so don't feel like you're being rude." His teacher said, quite literally nose deep into the book. His eyes behind the shade must have been twinkling, because he looked majorly off-guard.

Tai knew he was insulting and baiting him, and it worked, "You are so finished!" he screeched angrily as he charged and aimed a well-placed elbow toward the O'rin's collar bone, but it was promptly block an instant before it contacted in his palm, his eyes still focused on the book in front of him. Not finished, Tai spun out of his hold and ducked down, swivelling on his heel and aiming a low kick toward the backs of his teacher's knees, and again, he avoided contact by jumping and planning his feet down again, Tai still agitated and swivelling again, assuming a bent knee power stance and going to punch Satsuma in his oblivious, crouched down (due to his landing force) face, missing and hitting the air again, _He's so fast!_

Behind him, crouched down with his book encased over his thumbs to maintain his page, he placed his index fingers and middle fingers together in a clasped formation, forming the seal of the Tiger.

Sora, naturally, caught on to this seal and its power immediately, _Wait, the seal of the Tiger is far too powerful to use on any K'rin, especially someone like Tai!_

Matt was on a similar train of thought high up on his branch, _The seal of the Tiger is used for fire techniques… that pyromaniac doesn't play around; he plans to destroy Tai with that!_

Sora couldn't help but rummage through the brambles of the bush she and Biyomon hid in, regardless of the bird's attempts to settle her down, "Tai, get out of there! He'll kill you!"

"Too late," Satsuma confidently said as Tai glanced over his shoulder, having no time to move as he recognized the seal style, "_Fire Form, Blazing Inferno_-"

At that second, Agumon leapt off of his branch and floated in mid-air as he unloaded with a technique called 'Pepper Breath', offloading several fire pellets at Satsuma, causing the O'rin to sidestep to escape the blaze. He went back to the book as the fire died away almost instantly on the earth due to the weak intensity of the flames as Agumon went and stood beside his partner, "Tai, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… I'm sorry that you had to do that." He replied morosely. His stomach began rumbling and he clutched at it as Satsuma responded to its call, his nose still in his book as he turned the page with his thumb.

"Aw… you getting hungry; wasted all your energy, huh?"

"What do you expect, you told me not to have breakfast this morning!"

Sora scowled with a light pink complexion, "Try not eating dinner as well, and then you can complain!"

Tai clenched his fist on his grumbling stomach as Agumon rubbed his back, "Uh… I can't feel my legs very well… but like hell I'll ever give up!" he barked as he assumed his favourite cross finger seal, "_SHADOW BODY SPLITTING!_"

His roar was proud as smoke arose around him and his dinosaur partner, and as the billowing steam like gas dissipated, it revealed seven additional Tais, each of them bearing immense grins as Agumon looked around with confusion, delirium and respect on his broad facial features.

Satsuma also seemed impressed in a minute way, peeling his eyes off of his book and peering at the group of clones, "Solid clones, just like the rumours I heard this morning… so he did defeat Mizaki with it?" and like that, his eyes went back to his book.

"GET READY, HERE WE COME!" Tai bellowed beside his dinosaur, all eight charging toward the teacher before Agumon could voice a plan or action. Sora and Matt looked on from their hiding places, starstruck by Tai's sudden coolness factor.

_Impressive… so they are solid! _Matt thought.

Sora was by far more swayed by the action, _Seven clones? I could only manage three during the exam, and those weren't solid!_

Satsuma was unimpressed, peeling his book back and glaring passively at the charging brigade of Tais, "It's a fearsome technique, to be sure, but at your level, your chikara can't hold up; you have about a minute tops with that technique active. You're only wasting time and energy, since you can't hope to touch me with only seven clones and a half-starved self-"

The O'rin suddenly felt a grabbing sensation around his vested waist, knocking his book and closing it on his thumb, causing him to lose his page. Irritated, he looked around, finding Tai holding him tightly by the waist.

"What…! There was one behind me?" Satsuma calculated and came to the conclusion in seconds, _Of course, he planted a clone in a hiding spot before he came out! He actually thought ahead!_

Again, the two teammates smirked vividly at Tai's actions as one of the clones leapt up and prepared for a downward striking punch to his immobilized sensei, "Take this!" he called out, coming down and giving him a good whack. As he looked to examine the damage as he landed, he found that he had punched himself (a clone being restrained by another clone) and watched as he fell, bloodied to the ground.

"W-what the-?" Tai questioned, Agumon's face drooped in confusion as well.

Sora's face tightened as she recalled what a fool Taichi Kamiya was recognized as, and Matt analysed the situation from his hiding spot above Gabumon, _The substitution technique… that is a true O'rin if he was that smooth as collected to conduct it with that split second timeframe… and he was so slick, he managed to make Tai look like a total moron._

Tai, confused beyond all measure, decided to drop his technique, smoke billowing around him as the clones all vanished, except one, who proceeded to charge at the real Tai and use a powerful Tekina combination a quick fire punches aimed at his face, body and ending with a kick to the sternum that propelled the original through the air and skidding roughly against the soil.

Agumon, concerned, began firing his pellet bursts of flame at the clone, hitting him in the back and singeing his back as smoke arose, the clone gone.

Matt once again analysed, _So he not only formed a substitution with Tai's clones, but he managed to create his own transformed clone that blended in with the crowd in a fraction of a second!_

Tai writhed on the ground, his head practically balanced against a tree as he stood up. His tekina training at the school had toughened him, so he wasn't bleeding, but it still ached. Looking at the ground as he gagged and spat out a bubble of air in his throat, he spotted a small twinkle next to him. A kunai he presumably dropped as he fell was placed there. He only had three, so he picked it up and stood before a rope tightened around his ankle and hoisted him doggedly into the air, hanging from a tree.

Agumon rushed over to help him, but got his ankle ensnared also as he got beneath Tai, and now dangled beside him. Satsuma walked beneath them and looked up with a vehement sigh, "Tai, if the bait looks obvious, don't go for it. Besides, your pouch is sealed, be wary of your equipment and reserves at all times to be a good Tamer. Agumon, keep an eye out for traps hidden within traps; they cause many deaths on the battlefield to the oblivious."

Tai burst out with a cranky grunt of anguished defeat and fury as his partner dangled more docilely beside him, rendered silent.

"Now that you're restrained and defeated, I'll ask you, do you get why you fell into such an obvious trap that required only a secondary data analysis of recalling whether you're pouch was sealed and the quantity of its contents?"

Tai writhed against the rope more, "I get it!" he venomously spited at his teacher.

"I'm telling you this because you do not get it!" Satsuma belayed.

Matt was still onlooking from the branch, his eyes dilating as he went into his pouch and placed six shuriken inbetween his finger arches and crossed them over his chest, preparing his aim, _His guard is down; he got cocky for defeating Tai!_

Unfurling his crossed arms at high speed, he released the throwing stars into the air through the leaves that covered him, watching as they curled and curved in the air and collided into the side of Satsuma, the O'rin reeling and heading to the cold hard ground with blood soaking the earth.

Matt was dumbstruck, however, when smoke rose and the body vanished with its blood puddle, signalling a clone, and that he had just given off his position, _That was hasty of me, he never let down his guard at all!_

Matt and Gabumon immediately began a hasty relocation through the trees, leaving the tiniest of creaks as they went, leaping from branch to brach deeper into the forest. Satsuma was onlooking from his own personal hiding spot, in another tree with perfect overview of the battlefield, "So that's where he is…"

oOo

Sora and Biyomon had also left the bramble bush and headed into the forest in response to Matt's callous error, and began looking for him, _Matt couldn't have been caught could he? Even he could have been- NO! Not Matt, never Matt!_

The pair were making a large judder as they bypassed the brambles in the forest pass they were heading through, the bird finally becoming unnerved and floating in front of her partner, bringing her to an abrupt and noisy halt as she fell flat on her backside, "Biyomon! What are you doing, we have to find Matt and… and-"

Biyomon looked understandably bewildered. The most important test of her life so far, and her partner was such an introverted…

Her eyes caught something and couldn't peel away. Sora squinted one eye as she focused at the pink bird's large pupils. Part of the sun glow in it was blurred out by an object behind her.

Looking back, she found Satsuma, crouched behind her, nose inches from hers and his hands clasped together in the seal of the Ram.

And then everything went dark…

oOo

She awoke in the same area of the forest, alone, and gazed around, daydream eyes glistening dully in the filtered sunlight that basked her as she stood up doggedly.

"W-where… am I…?" she stammered, regaining her posture and scanning the local area; dull, devoid of light and gloomy. She heard a rustle behind her, turning to see a shadow behind a tree and a familiar voice warming her heart as it called out.

"Sora… p-please help me…" it said. She'd know the voice of her love anywhere, so she took a few paces dreamily forward.

"Matt…?" she began ecstatically at his safety, only to fall to a flat note at the end as her eyes befell on the piteous creature that collapsed dead before her. Matt had two mis-directed arms, broken beyond measure, several indentations at his chest beneath his Ishida clan jacket with red smears above them and his face was pulverized by many purple bruises. He also had a kunai sticking out of his back, the protruding knife holding a half burnt exploding tag on the hilt of the small blade as Sora screeched at the sight before her as the thunderous explosion rang out, the girl lost in the flash, smoke and searing ash.

oOo

Matt ceased his escape with Gabumon after hearing the terrible scream from around half a kilometre away in the forest. He looked for a moment as he put squeals to his teammates, "That was Sora, wasn't it?"

"It sure was, she and Biyomon made to much noise and I used Seiina, the psychosis art on them. They were apparently the best when it came to resisting Seiina," Matt looked back to the speaker, who leant against the rough bark of a smaller tree with his nose in his book again (not literally), "but apparently not… I showed them terrible images of their deaths, but at the very least Biyomon would have died a quiet death befitting a Tamer…"

Matt scowled at the very element he tried to escape, he and the silent Gabumon jolting into tight crouches, ready for his charge, _Seiina, mind control, no matter what you call it, it's just the manipulation of a person's senses… I'm not surprised he got Sora with it; BUT… _His nostrils flared and his face beamed with calm confidence, "I'm not like the other two." He firmly added as his teacher straightened his posture, turned the page and at least attempted to clench into a prepared position.

"We'll see, Yamato, we'll see," he said with a full blown snide chuckle, signalling for the blonde and the cub hybrid to begin with an arrogant taunting gesture, upturning his palm and signalling for them to come.

Matt did so, the talented prodigy reaching into his pouch, clutching two shuriken and throwing them in a flash at his sensei, who simply side stepped them.

"That won't cut it; your following in Tai's foot-" he tensed as he sensed a fluctuation in the air, looking over his shoulder just in time to see a pre-prepared and well camouflaged rope be severed beneath a grouping of brambles by one of the shuriken, _A trap?_

Closing his book and promptly placing it in his pouch, he jumped aside as several kunai were propelled by a rope operated mechanism that would be accredited to T'rin level Tamers. As he skidded to cease his course, he sensed yet another disturbance, spotting Gabumon with his cheeks enlarged behind him.

Opening his mouth, Gabumon began using a technique called 'Blue Blaster', in which the cub shot an icy cold focused blast of water from his mouth. Twirling as he skidded, Satsuma considered himself impressed as Matt used expert speed to appear at his defenceless side, rallying a kick to the side, which he caught by clasping the ankle. Matt followed up by going for an overhead downward punch, which was caught by the other hand, both of the O'rin's hands full now, letting Matt go for an awkward but useful flip into a peg-leg that was barely parried by Satsuma's forearm that was also clasping his fist. All of the sensei's hands now full, Matt knew he had a hand free, and smirked as he used it to successfully graze Satsuma with a full on blow to the sternum as he lurched back, releasing the child, who flipped and landed on his feet, smirking, feet away from his sensei as Gabumon stood proudly beside him.

Satsuma was now immensely impressed as he noted inwardly, _He at least managed a grazing blow… I wonder if the little squirt will let it go to his head… _So he decided to bait him, "That was impressive, Yamato! You have forced me to put away my book, something no other K'rin prospect has managed!" he said with a convincingly false hearty chuckle.

Matt sneered, unaffected by the bait as he clapped his hands and held them in a prayer formation, "Gabumon, get back… I want to try out my best technique on him…" he muttered, the wolf Digimon, after the last display, not doubting his ability. He would step in if necessary.

"Do your best, Matt," the wolf said reassuringly as Matt began hand seals faster than the light could keep up, making it appear he had three hands in three different seals as Satsuma waited, his interest piqued.

The final three seals became evident, as he clasped his hands in an interlocked pair of fists clasped between finger arches for the Serpant, placed his fingers atop one another like a ladder, the two index fingers elongated and conjoined at the apex for Horse and his hands clapped together again with his four master fingers lengthened and placed against each other for Tiger as he lurched backwards, his chest rising a little.

"_Fire Form, Evergloam Blaze!_" he announced before opening his mouth in a leant over spitting motion, a large fireball of ethereal blue flames coming out as Satsuma struggled to comprehend the immenseness of that instant.

_A mere child using a fire technique at its fullest calibre, _he thought as he braced for the oncoming blue fire ball, _the Ishidas are legendary for this kind of technique, but he should not have developed chikara control to this level!_

The sky blue, interspersed with navy dark blue flames singed, burnt and sizzled the earth the ball was aimed at, causing an erosion effect and forcing the ground to crack and form an indented crater like mark as it flared away slowly, Matt having stopped supplying the flames as Gabumon sweatdropped, awe-stricken at the boy's power.

As the ravaging flames blustered away with its juxtapose colour wrath and the blue flames finally ceased, dust, ash and smoke raging up into the sky as Matt saw one thing wrong with the whole picture.

Satsuma wasn't there, and he hadn't put near enough in that blast to sanitize him.

He looked frantically from side to side, Gabumon confused with a dopey look on his face as he watched Matt, silently as ever…

Matt was nervous as he shot back and forth like a mechanical searchlight, _Where is he? Above me, behind me, beside me…?_

He felt a clutch like vice at his ankle, looking down to find a hand holding him from below the earth, "_Earth Form, Dirt Prison!_"

…

Matt and Gabumon now lay beneath the earth, the heads protruding out of the ground to allow them air as Satsuma looked disappointedly down at the callous blonde and his partner, "Now, I will admit that you are much better than the others attempts, but the most talented is always the one that gets repulsed in the end first." He said with an all-knowing smirk, standing up and disappearing into the threshold of the forest again and out of sight.

"Damn it!" Matt said defiantly in the O'rin's direction, _I realize he's stronger than me, that just made it evident…_

Gabumon sullenly attempted to wrestle his neck free, but with little success, "Matt, maybe we should strategize, time's running shorter and we're nowhere near the scrolls anymore."

At that second, Sora burst through a bramble bush, Biyomon flying above the trees to keep up with the driven girl. Spotting the pair of buried partners, she froze in place, one foot still raised in the middle of a charge. The blonde megalomaniac simply sweatdropped and said, "Sora?"

The shriek was fearsome, and reverberated throughout the forest as she collapsed, having fainted from the head that spoke to her. Biyomon shot down and began flapping her wings to cool Sora's fever, "Sora, don't die!" she expressively squawked as she hastened up her flapping.

"… Very strange for a Tamer to faint…" Matt belittled as he began rummaging against the dirt that imprisoned him.

oOo

Tai sat beside Agumon against a nearby tree, the scrolls right before them on the stump, the ferret peacefully curled and asleep beside them. They were mentally preparing to go after the scroll, fearing a sudden appearance by their sensei. Finally beginning an arduous tip toing affair across to the stump, Tai extended his hand and reached for the scroll, only to have a familiar hand clap and tighten around his wrist.

Tai blanched, as did the dinosaur, "We are totally screwed, aren't we…?"

"Totally." Satsuma assured.

oOo

Sora was in a dark void, before two beams of light bled in as she opened her eyes. It was different than when she had awoken from the psychosis, it was a normal awakening. She felt a rocking at her shoulder and a cool breeze being brushed toward her face, bringing her back into consciousness, Matt beside her shaking her shoulder and Biyomon And Gabumon brushing air to her face with wings and paws.

"So, you're finally awake?" Matt kindly inquired as Sora twitched. He had never sounded so caring, and it soothed her inside as she shot up happily and grasped him in a hug. Matt shook and writhed as if the love in the hug would smoulder him, "Hey, get off of me!"

Now standing up, the blushing girl bowed and voiced her appreciation to the blonde for his caring manner as he began to trail off back to the stumps, realizing the time lapse, "We gotta go and get our scroll soon; there's not a lot of time left." He murmured as he began pacing away.

Sora thought for a second and blurted, "Matt, with Satsuma-sensei always guarding the stumps, we have no chance of getting close!"

"He's not all that, I made him put his book away and got a grazing blow in on him."

"G-great… that is so natural for you that it was awesome and obvious," she said, but her secret stress relieving self internally noted, _Uh, there's no chance that I can touch sensei, and Matt'll pass while I fail and he'll go on with Strawberry!_

Matt continued his stride.

"But, time is running out, and by the time we get back, even at a push, we'll be too late, so why not give up and try again next year?"

She was rendered speechless by the filthy scowl she received which was quickly rescinded into a low, soft despondent look to the ground by the blonde.

_-You a member of the Ishidas? You're not strong enough…_

_-Matt, where did mommy and daddy go?_

_-I'm sorry… I failed, TK…_

"That day, I vowed that he would die by my hand for his heinous crime…" Matt mumbled as he trudged and stood slanted, "that day, me and my brother were crying… I'm the only one who can kill him, the only one who can make things right."

"M-make what right, Matt? What happened to you and your brother?" the auburn haired girl asked tentatively, "you mean Satsuma-sensei?"

They were interrupted by a sudden rising sensation in all of their stomachs as the scenery changed from the thick woodland to the place they started before the stumps, Satsuma kneeling down with his hand planted on the ground, fingers spread.

"Good thing I planted summoning tags on you when I caught up to you two; makes it so much quicker to grab you again…" he said dismally as the humans looked around. At their sensei's behest, they performed the summoning technique to assemble Gabumon and Biyomon back to the stumps, "Anyway, it is fair to say you all ran out of time, but I have been evaluating your individual skills and have come to a decision."

"Cool!" Tai and his partner cried out from the two outer stumps beside the scrolls, tied tightly with rope and bumps and bruises evident of a second attempt to fight Satsuma (it had apparently gone badly, as the sensei had no scratch or dirt on him whatsoever), "Then that means you've recognized that we're-"

"Talentless, yes. I'm putting a formal request in to ensure you do not waste the school's time ever again. All of you are pitiful Tamers."

"W-what?" Sora exclaimed, stomping in protest, "you can't do that! What is the point in excluding us?"

Satsuma's stare hardened and his face wrinkled angrily around his shades, "Are you kidding me? What's the point in _not excluding you three_? You've wasted the hopes of these Digimon who were looking forward to their futures by not performing like Tamers, but little kids with delusions of grandeur."

Matt chided and charged at Satsuma, reaching into his pouch for a kunai when he felt a palm at his head, Satsuma's speed too great to follow as he slammed the boy into the ground and restrained him by sitting on him, his face exuding anger, giving credence to his covered eyes intensity.

"Matt!" Sora shrieked, almost preparing to charge as well before a veil of bloodlust came from her sensei's direction.

"You think this is a game? You think I'm playing around!" he bellowed atop Matt, "Sora, tell me, why is a squad formed for Tamers?"

"W-why?" she thought on it, "well, I wanted to ask that this morning, but Zaki-sensei didn't reply-"

"Of course he didn't! It's so obvious! Three to a cell, why would that be when you have a Digimon partner already?"

Tai snapped, "How the hell are we supposed to know if you won't tell us?"

"It's so basic… TEAMWORK!" he said, the three dropping their facial expressions.

"Just working together… would have passed us?"

"Yeah, that's what I mean, well," he cocked his head back arrogantly, "it's over for you three; the Digimon will just have to await reassignment."

Kudamon quietly input, "Why do you think it was so hard to best Satsuma?" he asked with a sullen, tired tone, "It's because you did the task single handedly, and that includes working in synch with your own partners! Alone it was a monumental task, but if you had strategized, thought it through and knew you had all five of your teammates with you as you assaulted, you could well have managed it."

"Sora, tell me why you went tailing after Matt and dragged Biyomon with you, when Tai was in front of you with Agumon in a trap. Tai, tell me why you attempted a single assault relying only on your skills at the Shadow Body Splitting, and took it as a blind rage when Agumon had to help you like a good teammate. And you, Matt, while you may be skilled and have managed to graze me, which is a first for a junior, I'll grant you, but you told Gabumon to stand clear aside during our confrontation. This is why I secretly met up with your partners early this morning and made them swear not to voice their opinions; I wanted to see if you humans could put aside pride and work as a team against Satsuma. You failed miserably in that cause, but then again, with your Digimon sticking to you on my request and to adhere to strict silence, we both thought it would cross your minds at least once to utilize your partners."

Satsuma continued, stepping off of Matt, who looked solemn and ashamed, "Arrogance, Narcissism, Love-Obsessive… you are the biggest batch of flaws I've seen in a prospect squad. Do you know why many Tamers know that teamwork is an essential element? Because a lack of co-operation on missions, which are always carried out in squads, will lead to a certain death. Now, I was saving a surprise extra three hours on the task, but if you dare to waste my time and insult the memories of Tamers who have died defending their teammates in a battle situation, I will go through on my threat. Oh, but Tai doesn't get loose unless he does it himself; his punishment for being a hothead. Anyone who attempts to release him and Agumon will automatically fail this."

…

Now, back in the trees, Sora, Matt and their Digital compatriots awaited a chance to charge in for the scrolls again. The centre stump held the scrolls, while the subsidiary stumps held the tied up Tai and Agumon, both of whom weren't moving much anymore, presumably very weak.

Kudamon was overlooking from the middle stump, and Satsuma had vanished into the trees himself, and hadn't made a sound for several moments. Now was the moment, Matt thought to himself as he and Gabumon phased out from leaping so fast, landing before the stumps with a safe landing. What was Satsuma thinking?

Sora followed suit like the fangirl she was, Biyomon also planting her talons into the ground as the pair walked over to the centre stump. Matt was half way to grabbing the scroll, before hearing the dreadful moan beside him from hunger and physical pain. Tai was throbbing in his restraints, but had lost his strength to move.

Kudamon, inches away from the boy, looked on omnisciently.

Suddenly, Matt turned back to Sora and pulled out a kunai from his pouch. Looking at Biyomon and Gabumon, he ordered, "You two, can you combine your attacks on the dirt and raise a smoke screen? Sora, grab a kunai and get Agumon while I get the dunce."

"W-what-?" she spluttered, trying to reason with her hands indignantly, "But Matt, we'll get disqualified if he catches us!"

"Tai and Agumon are hurting, which hurts the squad itself due to the loss of their raw power." He explained, tightening his grip on the hilt of the reverse gripped kunai, "not to mention, if he did get free himself, he'd only be weak and ineffective. Now, you two, raise the screen."

Biyomon and Gabumon tentatively eyed each other before both saying, "ROGER!"

The bird flapped her wings and ascended into the air, before violently flapping and creating a spiral green wave of air, while Gabumon shot his blue stream of icy cold breath at the same point, raising the smoke screen as the two humans struggled to slice through the bindings, finally doing so and awaiting their sensei with their squad members recovered. The smoke dissipated, but nothing happened. Confused for a second, Matt grabbed the three scrolls and handed them to the humans, ending the exam in a state of delirium and awkward confusion.

Kudamon on the stump behind them simply laughed, almost howling so, "Congratulations, you pass the exam, K'rin!"

Sora spat in disbelief, "What are you talking about- we pass?"

"That's correct, your exam is finished and you've lived up to mine and Satsuma-sensei's standards. Congratulations. It's a shame Satsuma hadn't stayed to see this; he thought that you were like the rest of the squads we've given this assignment to; I was sure he was going to fail you early!" he chuckled.

Tai meekly roused himself up to his feet, sauntering over to Agumon and helping the Digimon up shakily, "He's not here anymore…?"

"He left ten minutes ago, Taichi. This was you're final chance; he wanted me to relay whether you passed or failed based on how your mates reacted to the dilemma he presented by forbidding your rescue. I was to see if Matt and Sora put you out of their minds and went for the unprotected scrolls themselves. We have a philosophy from past experiences; those who would betray and abandon comrades to achieve a mission are scum who are successful, but a squad that sticks everything out together and returns with a full team are heroes, regardless of team success. Lives are more important to our village than to our duty as Tamers, even if we are called slaves of the night and the dogs of foreign lands..."

Tai was a little teary eyed from the numbing sensation engulfing his body (and the speech second, of course), "T-they're kind of cool I guess…"

Kudamon stood up on his hind legs, the ferret giving an elderly look from his miniscule eyes, "It will be an honour teaching you guys… keep at it with the teamwork; this exam was to ensure it wasn't a one time thing. Your first mission briefing is tomorrow at five sharp." He said as his body reduced itself to a small, billowing cloud smoke.

Matt understood this, _He left a clone and went to inform his partner of our success already… he must have decided that the instant I retracted my hand from the scrolls…_

Sora picked Tai up by his shoulder as his stance faltered, and the three began walking to the village, their new partners in tow. The tales of Squad Seven were only just beginning to unravel…

xxx

_Sora's Tamer Handbook,_

_Today's lesson focuses on partner selection for Tamers, digital and human. The process is a mystery to many, but what little is known is that the partner will closely resemble their partners in idealism, personality and general attack type, be it a planned out assault or a relentless attack._

_For example, Matt's lone wolf of a partner Gabumon suits him in accordance with his analytical skills, planned out attack formation and his silent demeanour that gives no indication of fear or nervous behaviour._

_Since Gabumon rarely speaks, but is so kind when he does, does that mean Matt is sweet and caring too?_

_I gotta go and… uh… check this out…_

_Sora_

…

**A/N: **And there we have the third episode, which differs more and more from Naruto itself. Regardless, our primary characters are now assembled as Squad Seven, and are now full fledged K'rin, junior Tamers. Watch out for their adventures and missions from now on, as they make a deathly and hallowing journey to the Land of Squalls in the next episode!

Yes, and I promise, the pace in action will pick up… at least I hope it does so that nobody feels disappointed.


	4. Episode Four

**A/N: **Episode four is up, and the young Tamers, now officially recognized, are about to begin a deathly trip on their first ever C Rank mission from the Senksha, however all is not as simple as it seems…

Also, Kari does exist. That twist will come eventually, believe me…

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Four: The Rogue Assassination Squad! Squad Seven's Dilemma!**_

…

_K'rin Reference Book_

_Yamato Ishida_

_Age: 11_

_Family Unit: Brother (Reference the Ishida Clan Tragedy)_

_O'rin Sensei: Satsuma Rentarou and Kudamon (Special Case)_

_Missions Completed: 4 D Rank, 0 C Rank, 0 B Rank, 0 A Rank (S Rank N/A)_

_Conclusions: Most promising member of this year's K'rin graduates, with the top grades in his year. Hindered social connections due to his Clan's demise and distancing from little brother Takeru (TK) Ishida may cause problems on missions including miscommunication and unabashed arrogance toward teamwork._

…

The six gathered around tentatively in the thick thrush of the woodland nearby the Hidden Terra Village, scouting out a located priority target on their fifth D Rank mission as K'rin. Agumon, Biyomon and Gabumon stood toward the rear of the small huddle behind a bramble bush, as Tai reported on a comms ear piece he had strapped to him, "We've located target, approximately 15 metres away from our current position," he whispered into the device.

On the other side in a different section of the forest, Satsuma and Kudamon were knelt against the rough bark of a slanted apple tree, "Good, on my mark, charge and capture the target." He said, grabbing an apple from above, taking a hearty bite and muffling his mark, "Go!"

The six like a flash jumped out of the brambles at the small target, an In Training Digimon called Salamon, a peach coloured kitten with a red bow wrapped around its neck with a small bell. Tai was the one to grab it in its shocked state, getting scratched repeatedly for it on the floor as Matt took the ear piece roughly from the grounded chocolate haired boy, speaking into it, "Mission accomplished; Salamon safely retrieved without incident."

Satsuma's ear was left ringing as Tai's voice spoke several decibles high in a deep, venomous tone, "There will be an incident if you don't get this cat off of me and give me a real mission!"

oOo

Back at the Senksha residence, in the large dojo like meeting room the Third Senksha brazenly read out a set of D Rank tasks while Salamon whined as it was roughly hugged by an overweight lady with a tight bun and a blue frilled dress that displayed shadows around her more… rotund features.

"That stupid cat… my face is sliced because of it!" Tai moaned as he applied burning ointment to his cuts to help disinfect them from whatever the cat could have stepped in.

Sora loved cats, but allowed Biyomon to rebuke him, "Cats might not like you for the same reason girls don't Tai; apparently your weird and hyperactive."

Tai shot the bird a filthy glance, and then diverted them to Sora, failing to uphold it and looking solemn in defeat. He hadn't expected Agumon to pick up on this and defend him, "Really, because I heard that Tai's popular around the girls who don't overestimate their looks."

You could literally see the scorching burn that particular zing gave, as Sora became scarlet and Biyomon gagged herself with her own nonsensical comebacks.

A brief fist bump between the fiery pair later, all six and their senseis stood in a line, facing a long table of T'rin representatives (including Zaki at the far right) and Lord Senksha in the centre with a scroll, "Alright, the successful return of Salamon has earned the village 800 ryo, of which you three get 300 ryo each, meaning a 500 ryo bonus has been made. You may choose from the following D Rank missions remaining that haven't been assigned- Babysitting the Daimyo's 3 year old second cousin, transporting food back to an allied village-"

"Denied!" Tai barked at the old man spryly, "Give us an actual mission old man, not some kid stuff. We're Tamers, and we want a Tamer mission like spying, assassination or something cool!"

Matt snagged onto the sentiment, _That's true… we need a challenge to improve…_

Sora was still scarlet and annoyed, _He's such a scandalous idiot…!_

Satsuma almost slapped himself in the forehead, _And who's responsible for this supposedly mature junior's outburst? Haha, me…_

Zaki slammed his palms down on the table in outrage, "How dare you! You're only the bottom of the heap, a snot nosed K'rin and you should respect and carry out missions assigned to you!"

The Senksha raised his hand passively in a dismissive gesture, "Taichi, requests for Tamers come in everyday from every nook and cranny on this earth, both human and Digimon. Whenever we receive the requests, it is carefully taken into consideration and ranked from D to A Rank missions for different classes of Tamers. I, the Senksha, will often take both A and the occasional S Rank missions that come in beside O'rin, while T'rin handle B and C classifications and you handle D's to develop your skills until deemed ready…" he stopped as he finally noticed Tai's back on him, discussing udon flavourings with Agumon, "Child, I am trying to teach you the status quo of the Tamer world!" he finished angrily.

Tai turned back with a sour snort, "Maybe if I was still a lonely little brat hinging on your every word that might mean something to me, but now I am a bona fide Tamer and I want a Tamer mission, not kids chores!" he pouted.

Rather than get angrier, Zaki gave a small chuckle, as did the Senksha, almost relishing the child's reaction, "You want to prove yourself, do you… well then, don't say you were not forewarned on the dangers of a K'rin getting in over their head, Taichi. I shall grant you a bottom class C Rank mission as a special allowance, but if you make the village look bad, do you think you'll be able to replace me still?" he fell back into his chair and purposefully looked down at Tai to get the reaction he desired.

"Of course I'll replace you, geezer, don't worry about it!" the boy said happily, "so what is this mission, escorting a princess, saving a village from an evil overlord, what?"

"You had it right at escorting," he said with semblance, "but it isn't as glamourous as that… bring in Mr. Ukitake!"

The sliding door peeled aside on its rollers, revealing an estute old man with a prominent beard, receding hair line with long grey hair and a black shirt that ran into his three quarter crème shorts. He was holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand, and in the other held a straw hat that would easily conceal half of his face.

Ukitake looked at the three assigned protectors, and then over to Satsuma, disregarding the Digimon in his calculations, "So I'm relying on one O'rin sensei, four Digimon and extra baggage… I mean look at the wild haired one, he's a total fool just at a glance!"

Something in Tai snapped, and he braced to charge at the man before being held at the back of his collar by Satsuma, Kudamon snugly wrapped around his neck, "You can't let insults get to you; you're a Tamer, you relocate him, and he's gone, no need to succumb to his insults."

Ukitake spoke up drunkenly again, "You kidding, I paid for temporary protection as well… your to protect me until my bridge is finished in my home of the Land of Squalls."

"I see, so you must be the legendary bridge builder Chojiro Ukitake…" Kudamon said from his perch.

"No offense, but I don't trust Digimon, so I apologise in advance if I offend you." He said with a bow.

Tai shouted, "Where is my apology?"

"Oh, well… you do look like a fool, so I figured I wouldn't need to apologise for stating the obvious." He rebuked arrogantly, "I'm the great bridgebuilder Ukitake and I expect you to get me home to the Land of Squalls safely for my next project."

oOo

Engrossed in the excitement at the front gate, Tai pointed ahead on the path before him, "C'mon, we gotta hurry to the Land of Squalls quick!"

Sora asked perfunctorily, "Why exactly are you so excited?"

"Not only do we go on a real Tamer mission, have great training time and have the chance to prove ourselves, but we ditch this annoying old coffin ditcher!" he said chirpily, almost breaking into dance while his partner stood beside Gabumon, feeling a little ashamed.

Ukitake pulled up the rear as the group began walking past Tai away from the immense gates, "Has he always fawned like a fool or is he planning on moving? I still can't believe he's a Tamer."

Tai, now practically being abandoned as the group went past, announced loudly, "Insult me while you can, old man! I'll become Senksha someday, and you'll eat your words!"

"Senksha are wise and powerful, you are tiny and insufficiently dim," he was tranquil for a second, taking an inordinate sip from his whiskey bottle, "Become the Senksha eight times over and I won't respect you, kid. To become a respected person, you need to stop looking like such a pitiful excuse of a Tamer."

Tai snapped, his dream insulted, "Shut up and hurry into the ground, old man, I will become Senksha, regardless of what you people say!"

"I have to trust my life to this runt?" the old man spitefully added, pointing indignantly at the boy, "He's a joke!"

Satsuma chuckled, much to Kudamon's apparent chagrin around his neck, "Well, I'm an O'rin, so something this simple is assured success if I'm with you." He said reassuringly as Ukitake walked ahead of the group, Tai grovelingly following.

Looming in the shadows of the trees, overlooking the small party on the path were shrouded figure imbued with malice…

oOo

"Say, Mr. Ukitake," Sora began around an hour down the pathways that seemed to be almost winding, "you come from the Land of Squalls, right?"

"What of it?" the old man said sourly, but with a noticeable kindness not extended to Tai previously.

"Satsuma-sensei, doesn't the Land of Squalls have their own Tamers to take care of travels like this?"

"No, there are no Tamers present in the Land of Squalls, but in other select countries, there are Hidden Villages, each with their own different customs and traditions where Tamers reside like in our village. To the people of this continent, the central Hemisphere of the Digital World, Tamers maintain the status quo of power with the Lands around the world, particularly with the five great Tamer nations."

Kudamon perked up from his perch, "The Land of Sparks to the West, the Land of Earth to the South, the Land of Water to the North and the Land of Air to the East. We, the Land of Embers are recognized as the most organized and powerful, but that in itself is a dangerous idea that isn't bragged about. That is one of the main reasons the Five Shas exist to maintain the illusion of close competition, as the most powerful Tamer of every nation is placed into the public eye to divert attention away from bridges in the balance of power, and to protect the land they are from if one of the Five gets out of line and attacks."

Satsuma continued as the party crossed a small wood panelled bridge, "The Five Shas are the most powerful Tamers of their generation, and they are recognized accordingly as the Senksha of Ember, the Raisha of Sparks, the Ekisha of Water, the Kukisha of Air and the Chikyusha of the Earth."

Sora was unconvinced, but said softly, "Wow, Lord Senksha is such an important man!" but in reality her violent inside self said in her thoughts, _That old, rickety man is powerful and wise?_

Tai was also voicing his doubts inwardly, _He looks like he's on deaths door!_

"Hey! You all just doubted Lord Senksha, didn't you!" Kudamon angrily exclaimed, "Make no mistake, even at his old age, he's still stronger than either me or Satsuma, so be wary how you think of him!"

"Now, now, Kudamon." His partner quelled, easing the unease of the six youngster human and Digimon, "Regardless, there is no need to worry about being deployed long distance to the Land of Squalls, on a basic C Rank transport, the only threat is highwaymen and robbers, but with the skills I have seen from you six, there shouldn't be any trouble with rabble like that."

Sora and Tai smirked in relief at this, but Matt took note of a sullen look on the face of Ukitake, who had dropped his brisk pace.

Gabumon walked up beside his partner and softly whispered, "Matt…"

"I know, be on guard, something isn't right here…"

…

A few miles later, they came up to a ravine they now had to follow the edge of, the forest extending both sides but the worn down path. The ravine itself was heightened, as if the tide was in from the nearby mouth to the sea.

Satsuma piqued at this, his eyes tightening as he continued walking behind his dark lensed shades.

As they continued on the path beside the ravine, several metres behind them, the water had shifted unnaturally, and an iridescent liquid protruded out of the ravine onto the path, two cloaked figures forming from the liquid, their bodies covered by a hooded black cloak that extended down to their rudimentary Tamer sandals, but their black rag headbands were emblazoned by a small, jagged illustration of a wave, signifying that they were from The Hidden Tide Village in the Land of Water.

They charged with blinding speed to the back of the oblivious group, rummaging through their thick cloaks and revealing their prevalent arms, baring a heavy claw with talon like claws, an added feature being the chain they had latched around them on a rotor in the claws, which they quickly threw at each other, hooking the pair of chains up as they came up to the backs of Squad Seven.

They quickly twirled the chain so that it twisted and caught Satsuma, who exclaimed his surprise as the chain tightened with their tugs, "One down," one of the cloaked pair confirmed as a bloody spluttering was heard on the ground behind him, accompanied by the sloppy smack of meat hitting the dirt as the chain become loose again.

"Satsuma-sensei!" Sora squeaked as the pair went after a frozen Tai, who was still mid-way through turning to face Sora's scream, his eyes widening as he processed the information of his forthcoming death. Agumon and Biyomon were still processing as well, preventing them having any use at the split second before Tai's face was torn off with the conjoined metal.

Gabumon was the one to stop them as Tai raised his hand to cover his face on reflex, getting a small grazing cut from the claw of one of the pair (who was going to tangle it around him) by firing his Blue Blaster at the cloaked Water Tamer that retracted before the icy blast touched him.

Matt phased in behind him with grand speed, placing his foot on the Tamer's shoulder, throwing a shuriken skilfully at a gap in the chain that was passing by a tree, sticking the gap ro the bark tightly, throwing a kunai into the gap of the shuriken to lock it in place, as the pair noticed, unable to move as they found Gabumon and Agumon leaping up to their faces and punching the pair away, forcing them to break off the connection to the chain.

Sora and Tai were still frozen in place, as was Ukitake, who watched on in horror as two would be assassins had killed his one hope of safe passage; the O'rin and his ferret Digimon was was also torn to shreds by the chain. Tai was rubbing his cut, fearing by the blood seep that a vein had been nicked.

Matt noticed the disconnection of the chain, and saw the pair split up, one headed for Tai, one headed for Sora and Ukitake, claws bared for penetration and killing. Tai was not only agitated, but he was only happy to sidestep the attacker, and then apply a punch with his weaker hand that sent him back a clear foot before landing on his feet. The other was now inches from killing Ukitake with his claws, Sora and Biyomon standing in his defence, the girl baring a kunai in the face of the assassin and the bird charging up her gust attack, the Spiral Twister. They were both surprised as Matt stood before them, his arms outstretched in a defensive gesture, "I've got you covered, don't worry about it!"

But the assailant was stopped by a muscular arm, gripping at his throat and choking him until he passed out. It was Satsuma.

The other was also being choked by an even more muscular arm, certainly not one of a human, as the creature that had choked the assailant out before Tai was a dog like giant sat on its hind legs while using one of its frontal arms to choke like a panda hugging. It had a mask on with a sealed in red eye, brown fur and giant tail shaped like a giant axe with an eye staring madly at the foe he was choking. Its other most distinguishable features were Yin Yang symbols on the hind legs and its panda like size.

"Well done, Reppamon," Satsuma said as he and the large wolf Digimon dragged the assailants to a nearby tree where the chain was locked, unfurling it and wraping it around the tree and the captured assassins promptly.

Matt was still a little sour while complimenting his partner on his well-timed intervention, _They just had to get involved._

Agumon and Biyomon looked on in suspense, while Gabumon looked at Reppamon with reverence as he sat down on his back legs, "That power… is that the power of an O'rin Digimon?" he beckoned, grabbing Satsuma's attention.

"One day you'll have such power, once you've trained enough with your partners and learn to digivolve." He said aptly while walking over to Matt and patting him on the shoulder, "Good work, very smooth, very fluid Matt and Gabumon. Tai," he turned to the boy, "I don't think you should move. Thee claws are laced with poison, Kudamon picked up on it after seeing their style of attacking."

Tai looked almost mesmerised before pulling his gaze down upon his small cut from the claw, his face grimacing and sweat formed into beads on his temples.

Ukitake breathed in for the first time since he caught sight of 'Satsuma' and the ferret being torn to shreds, with the illusion dropped, the meat stack had transformed into torn branches; a substitution, _So they managed to protect me after all…_

Sora, her composure retained, walked up to the tied up, unconscious Tamers, "Who are they, sensei?"

"By my experience, they'd be rogue Tamers from the Hidden Tide Village, with a particular specialty in Tamer battle; relentless assault. They fight to the death in surprise ambush attacks with quick and lethal proficiency." Satsuma tapped the bottom of his glasses with his middle finger, "But as Tamers, they usually drag along their partners when going rogue, so stay sharp."

"So how did you know about their assault, Satsuma-sensei?" Biyomon asked as she perched on the branch above the captives.

He looked up to the bird, "The river was unnaturally high at this time of year, and the sea does not recede this quickly, almost brimming the riverbanks. Kudamon has the ability of a sensor, and he relayed four lifeforms in the river."

"Basic knowledge of terrain you will later be working on as Tamers," Reppamon added, his voice omnipotent, almost wraith like. His mouth didn't move at all, his voice was just there, "By the way, how long must I keep up this form? Now that the other two know we're alive, they've fled to regroup."

"That's true… alright, I think you can drop it."

And with that, the phantom dog glowed a bright gold and began shrinking in the shell of the glow, returning to being Kudamon as it vanished, and leaping up onto his favourite perch again, "It's a good thing I only needed to go Champion; I have almost no endurance in my higher forms."

"Well, you needed the extra speed to catch that T'rin level Tamer." His partner laudibly said, chuckling a little, but his face hardening again, "But we could have finished them earlier, but I decided to see why they wanted to attack anyway. Mr. Ukitake, care to explain why their priary focus was you instead of us enemy nation Tamers?" he said almost rhetorically, already figuring that the mission scope was far less than it should have been, "Bandits and Highwaymen; that was the agreement. Did you think that registering the wrong idea and potentially making security lax was a good idea?"

The old man sombrely looked at the ground, not uttering a word.

Satsuma practically snarled in annoyance, "Hiring our village to provide a service is natural, no problem. But I don't appreciate being lied to and putting my K'rin students at risk because you forgot to fill us in on deadly Tamers being after you, rather than simple rabble!"

He looked up, but it wasn't at the man, but directly through him.

Sora stuck up for the K'rin as sweetly as she could, "We're K'rin, this is way above our skill level. To protect you correctly, you should go back and ask for K'rin assistance," she leered over to Tai with a worried look on her face, "not to mention that Tai's wound needs cleaning and he needs the poison extracting…"

Her teacher concurred (the ferret Digimon), "That poison could be a hindrance, Satsuma… shall we go back and take care of Tai's injury? It needs to be bled out…"

Bled out…?

Tai got it… oh, was he ever going to regret this one later.

Reaching into his pouch with a vile grimace of humiliation and embarrassment on his face, he clutched the hilt as Matt called over without looking, "Are you alright, little girl?"

Shooting a dubious look at the boy, Sora sighed dreamily, forgiving the one she loved dearly immediately, gasping as Tai raised his kunai knife and plunged it into his wound, causing blood to spurt out and form a small gathering of droplets at his sandals.

Lucid thoughts ran through his mind of how he felt so alone and worthless.

_-It's that boy…_

_-Serves him right!_

_-Get out of here, you god forsaken plague!_

Sora practically went beyond the octave limit for a human girl, "Are you insane?"

Biyomon concurred, fluttering across to Tai and pulling his kunai out of his wound, increasing the bleed while Matt and Gabumon looked on at him, sublet and complacent. The two O'rin didn't deign a response, but looked a little shaken at the sudden sight, while Ukitake stared on unbiasedly, but with a sweat drop on his brow.

"Never again," the chocolate haired vessel lowly proclaimed, "I have gone through my entire life, living in misery and sorrow, watching people surpass me and taunt me. NO MORE! I swear on this wound, I will never run away or freeze again!"

Satsuma hummed, pulling a hand to his chin, "Semantics made clear by self-harm? That's a new one. Tai, while it was impressive, you will bleed to death in minutes if I don't tend to that. I'm serious; you've just created a major threat to your health by draining poison."

Tai felt his heart flatline at the sound of that megalomatic undertone, grasping his wounded hand and presented it with childish worry on his face as Satsuma went into his pouch and removed a small amount of field dressing.

Sora went up behind him as he held his hand out and promptly punched him in the back of the head for all she was worth, an angered look on her face, "Great one, what are you, some type of masochist?"

Satsuma was intrigued as Tai turned and apologised lowly, but his eyes covered by the dark lenses narrowed as he noted a strange happening in the wound itself; a faint glow of dark orange singed at the wound from the inside, the stab wound getting smaller by the second as the cells realigned. Curious, while Tai was still apologising, the O'rin placed his finger softly on the wound so that the boy and his teammates wouldn't notice, and felt a vile pulse fill him, _As I thought… a passive ability of Lucifermon… his chikara runs to the wound and speeds up cellular repair of the wound. Hastened healing, in short…_

"U-um, Satsuma-sensei," Tai beckoned, the O'rin refocusing, "Is it okay?"

"Yeah."

"Master Rentarou, sir?" Ukitake beckoned, attracting the group's attention, "There's something you need to know…"

oOo

Miles away, a small cocoon like hut, multi storied in layer and shaped like a spinning top, held up by unnatural webs. A dense fog clung the airspace and made it appear like it was floating.

"FAILED?" a short, rotund man in a neat black suit cried, veins popping across his receding hairline, "YOU FAILED ME?"

Two short Digimon stood clear on the other side of the room, looking solemn as they were barked at. The pair were both Gekkomon, green amphibian creatures with horns attached to their windpipes and wrapped around their heads. Contrary to their appearance, they were pivotal to any information based mission, as their ability to go supersonic and to the lowest soundwave was invaluable.

They both looked a little distressed, as they had to abandon their human partners at that tree (they were planning to return to get them after the meeting).

"Don't worry to badly… if you really, desperately need this old man dead, I'll do it myself." A cold, rasping voice said from a shaded area of the room, the person being sat on a couch in the corner. The fat man simply gaped in awe of him.

"R-really… do you think I'll trust you to do it alone, considering what happened to those T'rin you sent?"

He was render mute as he sweatdropped, a cleaver blade suddenly being pointed at his throat from the thick shadow, "Who do you think I am? I am Akira Yamamoto, the Scourge of the Hidden Tide!" he proclaimed with a haughty guffaw.

oOo

Hours later, having reached the pier to get to the Land of Squalls, the squad and their client were on a motor boat, which was now being paddled through the thick fog of the ocean that separated the inlet grouping that made up the Land of Squalls across a small distance of ocean.

Tai was sat at the forefront of the motorised wooden vessel, Agumon beside himas he squinted vainly, trying to locate where they were. Sora, Matt and their Digimon sat in the centre of the sizable boat, while their senseis and client sat to the rear, the boat's operator currently paddling with a large oar at the backside of the boat.

"The fog's so thick…" Sora remarked, rubbing her eyes from the moisture.

"The bridge isn't far now," the operator added, "the fog will thin, meaning we'll be in danger."

As if on cue, the fog began to dissipate slowly, a looming obelisk of a shadow appearing through the thick moisture. Coming into sight as they came alongside it, Tai pointed at it, "That bridge is awesome!"

"Be quiet!" the operator hissed lowly, "do you want this boat to make it to land or not?"

There was a tense silence at this remark, but Satsuma had to ask, turning his head to the sombre client, "Mr. Ukitake… before we land, I have to know what dangers my students are facing. So, those men… why were they after you?" he got silence in response, "Either you can tell us, or I will bort this mission as soon as we make port."

The old man released a restrained sigh, "As you said before, Master Rentarou, this is far beyond the scope of your assignment. I have no choice but to tell you," he said with false defeat in his voice, "the man who seeks my life is a short human menace who casts a long, hallowing shadow."

"Hallowing shadow?" Satsuma repeated, giving a low hum, "Who is it?"

"Oh, you'll have heard his name before. He's one of the biggest business leaders in the human sector of business in the Digital World, Dosu."

His eyes widened beneath his glasses, as did everyone else's but the operator (already aware) and Tai (hopelessly clueless in business matters and personnel), "Dosu, as in _the _Dosu of Trans National Product company in the neutral continent of Server?"

"The very same. On the surface, he deals simply in legal produce like food; meaning he is a major source of food to any nation that cannot sustain themselves, meaning almost every single one except the Five Great Nations." He tapped the bonnet of his straw hat, "But beneath the surface, he uses his influence to gain control of small nations without Tamers to act like a king. To achieve this end, he deals in drugs and contraband with underworld goons and rogue Tamers for hire to gain control of the small nations. It was one year ago that he set his sight on my home, the Land of Squalls."

Kudamon narrowed his minute eyes, "I see…"

"He used his vast wealth to bribe his way into the government of our Land, and used his influence in his company to slow and stem the food flow to the Land to try and… educate us. Those who resisted simply vanished, their homes found overturned."

"That still doesn't explain why he targets you alone." Matt input, his stare hardening.

"The man controls the sea, our food supply and government, but he fears one thing- my bridge project will link up the Land of Squalls with the Land of Embers, allowing for grand scale trade, expelling the need for Dosu's company and therefore, his presence. To prevent being kicked out of his little kingdom, the fool mustered up his limited brainpower and figured out that if I, the only master bridgebuilder that can manage something this scale in this part of the world, disappears, then the project will evaporate, and all hope will be lost."

Sora voiced her conclusion, "So, he kills you with an assassin discreetly, and he gains control of the Land of Squalls."

Matt added to that, "That alone proves that Dosu sent those T'rin after us on the forest path."

Kudamon snarled abruptly, "Why would you waste your time lying if you knew he'd be sending experienced rogues after you?"

"Well, the truth is rather simple. The Land of Squalls is in a state of horrid poverty because of Dosu's actions with our food supply and governing tactics. The mission to relocate me back from my trip for materials in your village was paid for in unison with twenty of my workers, all in all barely totalling 20,000 ryo, barely enough for a C Rank mission. B and A Rank class missions are beyond our financial grasp, so I had to lie and rely entirely on the experience of any Tamers I managed to get. If you end the mission because of this, no bridge will be built. I'll be assassinated before I reach my home."

He peered up leeringly at the young K'rin in front of them, and then assumed a laid back sitting position that gave him a wide range view of all members of Squad Seven.

"Well, it's not your fault," he said, ridden with guilt and remorse (not really), "I mean, I did deceive you, so your sensei has every right to abort the mission. However, I can envision the cries of my grandson, 'GRANDAD, WHY DID MY GRANDAD NOT HAVE PROTECTION?" he was on the verge of laughter, but by the piteous looks, he was winning this argument, "not to mention my daughter will condone the Hidden Terra for ditching her dear old man to his death and live in unbearable bereavement."

His voice was silky, like a purr toward the end as he knew by looking at the eight faces on the boat before him, both human and animalistic, were totally underneath his thumb.

Rubbing the back of his head, the human O'rin conjured weakly, "W-well I guess… considering the circumstances that we can oversee your safety until the bridge's completion. Can't have an entire country on my conscience now, can I?"

"Oh, that is so kind of you!" he said kindly, bowing in thanks. Secretly, though, he lightly murmured with victory in his heart, "Victory."

Getting involved, the boat operator summoned Ukitake's attention, "We're coming up to the gondola entrance. We're almost home free, Chojiro."

"Nice going," the old man replied.

The boat went along for a few metres before a shadow connecting to the bottom of the large bridge beside them appeared, a faint orange glow emanating from the inside of a tunnel. Entering into the tunnel, the fog seemed to separate, and the boat became visible again, along with the other end of the tunnel, in which sunlight was visible, as if the tunnel separated a shield of fog from the Land of Squalls.

Coming out of the tunnel, the light blinded Tai for a second due to the thick fog from before, but as his vision adjusted, he caught sight of an inlet island before him, vegetation apparent behind a line of shack homes constructed from simple scrap wood and nails. Moss clung to the wood, making it very unattractive, but the people walking across the rickety bridges that connected the island village together looked clean, but a little malnourished. They extended a wave as they spotted the boat, Tai waving back, knowing from the hope in their eyes that they were looking through him to Ukitake sat behind him, his face the picture of modesty.

As they reached the wooden pier, the group stepped off, stretching and preparing to move as Ukitake waved off the gratitude of the operator and thanked him instead.

Tai stretched his arm across his chest in a cross, but focused as he took note of the uncomfortable K'rin partners, the stares of a passing by old woman rotten and focused on them, "Why are they staring at our Digimon like that, Kudamon-sensei?"

"I'm not quite sure," the ferret uneasily replied.

"Forgive them," the old man said as the group began walking toward the forest path, "Dosu's antics with Tamers have brought ferocious Digimon that have destroyed the homes and livelihoods of many of the villagers on the different inlets."

…

Satsuma trailed a little behind the group, his partner wrapped snugly as a neck warmer and lifting his slender head to his ear, "What are you thinking, Satsuma?"

Whispering back, his voice was tainted by annoyance and curiosity, "First the T'rin who failed, meaning that to ensure a high likelihood of success, they'll send an O'rin level rogue with a varied skill set…" he sighed.

Tai walked at the point of the group with Agumon, twinging as Matt's arrogance emanated from beside him, _Does he think I'll allow him to show me up like that ever again?_

Tai began briskly striding ahead, raising his hand and searching like a comic book hero from side to side of the path; trees were all he found, except for a small rummage in the brambles metres away. Reacting, he pulled out a kunai and threw it at the bush with lightning precision.

Satsuma looked at him like a fawning fool, unbelieving of what he had just done. Sora was enraged by his sudden outburst, "Are you out of your tiny mind?" she exclaimed angrily.

"So, it was just a flicker of the wind…" he said with semblance, putting his extended fingers against his headband in a genius posture.

"Moron! WHAT SORT OF WIND DO YOU KNOW OF THAT NEEDS A KUNAI THROWING AT IT?" she yelled, getting louder and pumping her fists in the air to prove her wrath as the boy sauntered over to the bush to retrieve his kunai, Agumon looking almost ashamed and diverting his gaze.

Satsuma gave the back of the boy's head a stern look, "Tai, kunai knives are dangerous; what if you hit a child playing in that bush?" Matt looked away as he said this.

Ukitake echoed, "STOP TRYING TO SCARE ME, YOU SCRAWNY LITTLE DWARF!"

Gabumon, Biyomon and Kudamon looked unimpressed as well, the two juniors walking over and rubbing Agumon's back reassuringly with goofy, forced smiles on their faces.

Tai stumbled through the brambles, his quarter legging shorts not helping his toil at all, once through, he looked down to find his kunai knife lodged deeply into the bark at the very base of a tree. Below it, there was a purple tadpole Digimon in hysterics, practically unconscious as tears seeped from its dazed eyes, as the knife was mere inches from its head.

Satsuma went over after Tai just stood there, silently and in awe of what he had almost callously done to look cool, "Oh, it's an Otamamon. Way to go Tai, you nearly killed a Digimon."

"He did WHAT?" Sora voraciously asked, speeding to him and ging him a cast iron unch to the back of the head, "Way to go, genius!"

Satsuma twirled his head away at a sudden.

"I-I'm so sorry, Otamamon! Please don't die!" the boy hysterically incited, grabbing the lifeless form of the tadpole Digimon and hugging it, "Please, please, please, please~!"

Satsuma analytically remarked in thought, _Something's off here… like Agumon here, Otamamon is a dying breed of Digimon, now only found in cold and wet environments in the Tide Village… for it to be here is unfathomable unless it was caught and raised indoors for a substitution… Tai may have actually caught something in the middle of its act…_

A vile presence lurched in the branches above.

_So, they're already here…_

"I'm sorry!" Tai squealed again as everyone crowded around.

In the trees above, the vile presence, shaded heavily by the sunlight bombarding the leaves around him, thought hastily, _So, that's the reason that the Oni Squad I sent out failed… Satsuma Rentarou of the Surugan and the disgraced Kudamon of the Twelve Guardian Digimon, both among the top Tamers in the Hidden Terra… and the Land of Embers itself…_

The figure twitched and grasped onto something large attached to his back before leaping soundlessly, a large cleaver blade being thrown at the oblivious group in a twirling motion like a saw.

Satsuma sensed a disturbance by the low whirring sound, spinning around and warning, "Get down!"

The group's attention caught, they all ducked as the large blur of the cleaver bypassed them and curved upwards, lodging snugly into the mid-section of a tree opposite, the shadow from earlier appearing atop it, crouching on it without difficulty, looking down at the group.

Kudamon shot a dirt ridden glare, _He's gotta be…_

The man crouched atop the cleaver was wearing camouflage coloured pants tugged into his ankle sections of his sandals, while a long extension of his headband flickered in the air behind his head, a symbol for the Tide atop the metal section of the headband. On his bare back was a clasp operated holster for the large cleaver that was easily comparable to his own height. His browless face was hidden by a black mask that covered everything below his nose, and his eyes beamed out bloodlust.

But Tai was unfazed by the deathly glare, instead sweatdropping as he glanced toward Matt's direction, _Here's my chance… if I can just move faster than him this time, then I'll-_

He begun to charge toward the tree, before getting a muscular hand thrust before him, preventing his way. Satsuma didn't look at him, "Don't try, Taichi. This guy isn't as simple as the other two; he's in a completely different league." Kudamon leapt off his shoulders jerkingly, almost as if he felt a surge of panic as he landed on Agumon's head and watched as Satsuma reached for his shades, "You just stay back, and I'll take care of this one personally."

All of the K'rin students looked in wonderment as he coolly took off his shades and placed them securely in his pouch without opening his eyes. Although, on his left eyes were small but indignant scars, as if it had been torn out and re-planted in his socket. He shot his eyes open, his right being a simple black pupil and blue sclera, while his right was a different story.

Even more indignant than the scars covering a small area of his left eye was the eye itself; the sclera was blood red, and the pupil was black, but circling around the pupil were three protruding symbols of three fox like outlines of a pupil hovering around the pupil itself, making it appear like a three pronged bio-hazard symbol emblazoned on his left eye.

"I'm ready, Akira Yamamoto, scourge of the Hidden Tide!" he proclaimed, tossing his trademark black coat aside, Sora catching it in her arms (she seemed frozen in place like the first attempt by the T'rin), "All six of you, encircle Mr. Ukitake and be prepared to attack, Kudamon, be ready for attack pattern Sigma!"

"So, I get to see the Surugan, the mimicking technique of the eyes. I've heard the tales of its prowess," Akira noted, standing straight on the sword, revealing the entirety of his tall, muscular and yet thin frame, "but you could save us the bother by just handing that old geezer over, Satsuma."

"What is a Surugan?" Agumon queried.

Matt replied, a suspended look unbecoming of the usually cool headed blonde, "It's a rare form of Me Techniques- Visual Techniques, to be precise. It's a rare power that resides in the eyes and enables enhanced vision and allows a person to copy the hand seals of an opponent and copy any technique immediately without the years of training to learn it naturally. But that's not even scratching the surface."

The man guffawed and took his own approach, "Correct, boy. The Surugan has many more abilities, not only copying and replicating a technique seen by the user quickly without the years of training the original caster would have taken to master it, but also remembering the seals and casting process, making the user a quick learner indeed. But it also has a sacred ability when a Digimon partner is involved, isn't that right, Satsuma?"

He got no response, just a dirty glare. The one from Kudamon wasn't much different.

"But Satsuma-sensei," Sora inclined, "who is that man that you would need such a powerful technique to fight?"

"His name is Akira Yamamoto, rogue Tamer, recognized as the Scourge of the Tide Village. He's an O'rin level Tamer, and is very deadly in single combat."

"Okay, but if he's a great Tamer, where is his partner?"

"Normally he wouldn't have one, as Tamers separate from their partners officially to become two equal O'rin… but he did something taboo, something no Tamer should practise… although you don't need to know since you're just K'rin… call him a Digital Human."

"Digital Human?" Tai questioned, "what do you mean?"

Matt looked like he had regained his cool headed composure, but stared daggers at Satsuma's back, _An even better question is how he has a Surugan in the first place! The Surugan is unique only to a few select members of the Ishida clan… only me, TK and him should be left… or is he…?_

xxx

_Sora's Tamer Handbook,_

_Today we'll be focusing on the recognition of different Tamers._

_As you should know by now, Tamers come from the Five Great Nations, who are always separated by basic territorialism and totalitarianism that engulfs the world in strife, separating loyalties of humans and Digimon alike to serving one of the great villages in the five hemisphere areas of the world._

_To recognize a Tamer, just look at their headband and clothing. A source of pride and custom dictates that a respectful Tamer must always represent the village proudly on missions, and as such, must wear a headband. Clothing is usually comprised of a flak jacket, a pouch on the back of the hip and sandals that are common. In the Hidden Earth Village, the Chikyusha is apparently strict about a different uniform, but I don't have the details!_

_See you next time on my adventures with Squad Seven!_

_Sora_

xxx

**A/N: **Well, now we are getting into the nitty gritty of the story.

Suru is a close translation to Mimic in Japanese, so I used the Surugan as a replacement of the Sharingan.

You shall se its power in the duel against Akira in the next episode, in addition to a new power. What is attack pattern Sigma for a Surugan user?

Find out next time!


	5. Episode Five

**A/N: **Chapter five is now up, and we continue with the appearance of Akira Yamamoto against Squad Seven in his attempt to assassinate Chojiro Ukitake. Massive time action and Tamer skills coming your way right now.

...

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Five: Assassin of the Tide! Mighty Battle!  
**_

…

_K'rin Reference Book_

_Sora Takenouchi_

_Age: 11_

_Family Unit: Mother (Toshiko), Father (Haruhiko)_

_O'rin Sensei: Satsuma Rentarou and Kudamon (Special Case)_

_Missions Completed: 4 D Rank, 0 C Rank, 0 B Rank, 0 A Rank (S Rank N/A)_

_Conclusions: Girl was remarked by Zaki Norino-sensei of the schooling facility as being exceptionally skilled at the recognition of Seiina techniques and other such things in the field, but has a clear lack of talents for any of the three disciplines beyond the average female K'rin Tamer, and seems prone to what can be accurately described as 'fangirl sickness'._

…

Akira hunched down again on his sword footing, at least seven feet of the ground, and focused on the indignant markings of the Surugan in Satsuma's scarred left eye. The scars were horrific and dangerously deep, but were small enough to usually be hidden by his now pouched glasses.

"Digital Human?" Tai repeated again, "if we're in the Digital World, wouldn't we all be digital since we've lived here for generations?"

Satsuma never tore his eyes off of the man before him, "I'll explain later, Taichi. Now, get with the others and assume the defensive stance I told you to take." He hissed, Tai not challenging him and encircling Ukitake with the others, all sweatdropped.

Akira pried, "So, I get the honour of fighting a user of the legendary power Surugan… not to mention you yourself, Satsuma Rentarou. Back when I was a Tamer in the Tide, we had a black book of enemy nation warriors to keep wary of and kill if we ever had the chance. It remarked you as being the 'Replica Man' who duplicated over a thousand techniques."

The kids and their partners each readied their kunai, talons and claws in the encircling.

"ENOUGH TALK!" the masked warrior remarked, placing his hand gingerly on the hilt of his blade, entombed in the tree, "I need to kill the old man, now." He put so loosely, it made Ukitake flinch and fall a pace backwards.

And with a small grunt, the man and the sword vanished in a flash, the scar in the tree bark the only reminder of what was once there and just vanished before them. Looking across to the small body of water that made a small lake that extended downstream to the sea, they saw Akira, standing on the water as if by magic, the large cleaver holstered on his back like it was weightless.

In a second, he had performed three seals so fast, they couldn't be read by anyone but Satsuma's eye. He clapped his hands loudly together in the seal of the Serpant as the body of water beneath his apparently exalted feet steaming and formulating a powerful mist that engrossed all of Akira's body from sight as he called out the enchantment, "_Water Form, Steaming Mist!_"

And with the rising steam cooling in the air, a thick fog was raised, spreading from the focus point in the lake and quickly reaching the Squad and Ukitake, making their sight all but nullified. Even the person next to them became a faint shadow.

"He'll come for me first; do not fall into his trap and leave the circle." They heard Satsuma remark somewhere just ahead of them.

"But sensei, who is he?" Sora asked, unsure of where the answer would come from.

"Akira Yamamoto, rogue Tamer of the Hidden Terra Village. He's the former head of the assassination unit and a master of the Flash Step technique."

"F-Flash Step?"

"Yes, a killing technique so fast, you die before feeling the knife cross through your throat. He's mastered it to such a level that he can use it by sound alone." A gritting sound of dirt made it evident that her sensei was tensing.

Tai's vision began to become further neutralized, "This mist keeps getting thicker and thicker…"

Ukitake behind him grimaced, "The Land of Squalls have ever present cool air currents, meaning that mist is a common occurrence, even without this man's intervention."

"Sensei…" Sora released rather meekly, emphasising her worry.

"DID YOU KNOW THAT HUMANS AND DIGIMON HAVE THE SAME EIGHT POINTS?"

"W-what?" the girl exclaimed, unsure of where the rogue's voice was echoing from.

"THEY SHARE MUCH THE SAME ANATOMY, INCLUDING LARYNX, SPINE, LUNGS, LIVER, JUGULAR, SUBCLAVIAN ARTERY, KIDNEYS, HEART… NOW, WHICH SHOULD I USE TO KILL ALL OF YOU?"

Tai and Sora shivered, Ukitake practically quaked in the knees behind them in the circle while Matt and the Digimon sweatdropped, but retained their composure and held up their kunai, talons and claws. Satsuma, having heard this, assumed the Ram hand seal, and enforced his inner chikara into an external force that dissipated the mist from the small area that Squad Seven where contained to.

All of Squad Seven blanched at the surge of pulsating energy that brushed past them from their teacher, Matt in particular shaking at the conflicting auras of Satsuma and Akira, his hands trembling and sweat dripping from his face, his clothes beginning to cling.

_I feel like my throat's tightening! It's immense… two O'rin level Tamers intent on making a kill, regardless of collateral damage, it's almost making the air dense with their energies… NO! IF I HAVE TO GO ONE MORE MINUTE KNOWING THAT I COULD DIE WITH THE NEXT FLICKER OF MY EYE, I'LL GO INSANE!_

Matt's trembling hand began bending at the wrist, arching the blade toward his sternum before he was called out by his stern sensei, "Matt, calm down!" he said, turning his head across his shoulder, his Surugan somehow cooling Matt's nerves, possibly an ocular Seiina?

Matt peeled his eyes from the knife he seemed to recall being face another way, his face drenched in sweat as he looked at the Surugan user.

"I will defend you with my life; I will not allow any of my comrades to die!" he declared seriously, his face radiating confidence, giving all seven of the group hope, "I've already made the first move, and he hasn't realized it yet!"

"I WOULDN'T BE SO SURE," Akira proclaimed, appearing in the centre of the circle formation, his cleaver held in a spinning slash grip and his legs hunched over for maximum power, "IT'S ALREADY THE END."

Satsuma twirled around, his face deadpan as his Surugan seemed to pierce the mere sight of Akira as he watched the rogue's muscles flare and his blade began to twist in its path, Squad Seven cowering as they pivoted to find the man's cold expression as he went for a kill strike.

He began a full rotation, but found resistance as Satsuma had seemingly teleported with such great speed that the naked eyes lost him for a second while he travelled. He grabbed the blunt end of the cleaver, and placed his hand in a small opening in the centre of the cleaver blade (a small circular opening in the centre of the blade) and stopped the rotation as his students all ducked on instinct, rolled away, and looked at the scene from crouched positions while Sora and Biyomon dated over to Ukitake while Tai, Matt and their partners all stared directly at the scene before them as the two O'rin struggled to overpower the other with the cleaver blade.

A shadow loomed over the shoulder of the grimacing Terra Tamer as he continued the straggle, sensing a disturbance and diverting the cleaver forcefully into the air, leaving Akira open (his arms flailing into the air with his blade) and stabbing him with a hastily drawn kunai in the right section of his stomach, a strange, seeping liquid bleeding out, _Just as I thought…_

The man Satsuma had stabbed broke apart into a burst of spurting water that leaked onto the soil beneath them as Akira phased in behind the defenceless O'rin, slicing him in half in a horrific display with his buster sword cleaver, blood rising into the air as Sora screamed, rescinding the shriek as the blood turned into water and the body burst into water as well.

Akira felt a vein pop alongside his temple as he stared on, his blade still outstretched as he watched water drip by his face, _The Water Replication Technique? He duplicated my seals in this heavy mist? How…?_

He twitched as he felt a thin, metallic object be pressed against his neck in a reverse grip from behind him across his exposed shoulder, his beady, maddened eyes peering over to Satsuma, confidently stood in a killing stance as Akira lowered his blade so that the tip planted into the ground while the hilt was still tightly gripped.

"Now, it's over." The man of the Rentarou clan assured, twitching the blade to ensure Akira wouldn't be attempting anything reckless, "Don't move."

His students gazed on in amazement from their seated positions on the soil, Sora still holding her kunai while sitting beside Ukitake, who seemed unusually solemn compared to moments ago. Matt;s terror and hysteria had vanished also, his cool demeanour prominent as he stared blankly at the pair.

"You're finished."

Tai, silent until now, grew a broad crescent smile on his face, "All right!"

Sora let out a relieved giggle and softened her defensive stance beside the old man.

Everyone hardened once more as the defeated O'rin chortled darkly beneath his facial mask, his eyes maddened, "Really, are you quite finished? A crass imitation Tamer like you can never defeat me," he could feel the grimace form on the man behind him, "you really do surprise me though, using that ferret in such a way."

Agumon piqued to this and patted the top of his head, not feeling the Digimon that once rested there, "Hey, Kudamon-sensei's gone!"

"Of course he is. He was hidden in the mist while I moved using Flash Step, and he formulated the Water Replication Technique while Satsuma was making that heart-warming little declaration."

Tai rebuked this, "Digimon can't just use techniques like that; they have their own powers!"

"He isn't like other Digimon… of course, the mere fact he's partnered with a Surugan user makes him even less of a normal creature," he rolled his eyes over his shoulder to Satsuma again, "and he's already assumed a focal point, hasn't he, just after he manufactured the clone…"

"Focal Point?" Biyomon repeated obliviously.

Matt's eyes focused into slits, _Yes, that is one of the main powers of the Surugan… my father taught me all about it years ago… the partner Digimon sealed by the contract of blood is capable of linking their consciousness with a Surugan user, meaning that the Tamer has double the processing ability while the Digimon assumes a meditation elsewhere._

Akira continued with a cold guffaw, "Even with the power boost, you still saw fit to create a clone and followed up by hiding in wait for my move… I'm sorry," his body burst into water, Satsuma's face falling in disbelief as a shadow phased in and took form behind him, "but I am not that easy to deceive!"

Tai beckoned with a shout, "He made a second water clone!"

Turning on instinct, the Surugan caught sight of the blade half way through its course to slice him in half, forcing the apparently merged man to duck beneath the cleaver as it sped past, curving across the air and slamming like a marker into the ground behind Akira as he twirled quickly and planted his dominant hand on, continuing his momentum and bracing his leg as he planted his boot into the raised hands of Satsuma, whose fist crumbled beneath the force, propelling him around thirteen feet in the air and soaring into the lake as Akira grabbed his cleaver and began to charge at the heavy crash of the water surface where his opponent had landed.

Sora's eyes widened as she watched the mighty teacher that had so easily overpowered them in their exam being repelled by a powerful kick.

Matt gasped and lurched forward into his knees where he sat, _His Tekina skills are beyond powerful; they're destructive!_

Akira noticed something and ceased his course, skidding across the soil beside the lake in front of black spikes spread across the lake bank, "Caltrops, trying to slow me down?" he asked himself as he leapt over the caltrops and into the water with a crash, Satsuma surfacing in the middle of the small lake and seemingly showing strain in moving as he floundered slightly.

"Why is this water so thick and heavy…?" he asked as Akira leapt out of the water behind him, landing on the water and standing as he performed a fast sequence of seals. He ended on the hand sign of Bird, which had him form a diamond with his hands, joining his thumb, index fingers and pinkies together while the third and fourth finger were bent inwardly into the diamond.

"_Water Form, Water Imprisonment!_" Akira chanted, the water surrounding Satsuma taking on life and curling around him, forming a ball of water around the O'rin, Akira's hand entrenched in the water ball as he watched his opponent struggle by swishing his arm against the steely water prison.

Satsuma peeled back his lips and bared his teeth, _Escaping into the water, not the greatest move…_

"So much for the mighty 'Replication Man'. This water may look simple to escape from, but I've condensed it so much that it's as strong as water." Akira chuckled beneath his facial mask lifting his free hand into a semi-fist with his two main fingers stretched, "_Water Body Splitting._"

The water beside him and the prison technique began to pulse, and a being rose out of the water; a perfect clone of Akira, cleaver in addition, beginning a painstakingly docile stroll toward the rest of Squad Seven.

_His prowess was much greater than I thought!_ Satsuma blanched, "Everyone, get away from here! His chikara is split between managing this prison technique and the water clone, meaning he can't leave this place. Run far away and the clone will revert to water-!" he gagged in the water, the repercussion of screaming out his warning filling his powerful lungs with water; he had minutes left at this rate, _Kudamon, separate the connection, you need to protect them!_

Kudamon's voice ringed in his mind, _I can't, this prison prevents movement, and I need you to manually use the seals to release me from your Surugan!_

"Now then, before I forget, I need to kill the old man," the real one muttered, putting his free hand back by his side, preparing to watch the carnage like it was a common show.

The clone spoke out as it set its feet on the riverbank, assuming the seal that summoned it with its left hand, "You may have passed your exams and gotten Satsuma and Kudamon's recognition as Tamers, but back in the Tide, we had a moniker for kids like you who flaunt the name…" he vanished in a flash.

Tai's eyes tightened and his pupils widened as he dropped his defensive stance and looked left and right, _He disappeared again…!_

His momentary dropping of his guard was met by the reappearance of the clone, planting its knee directly into the chocolate haired boy's forehead, knocking his Ember kanji headband loose and onto the ground as Tai soared and crashed into the dirt several feet away, the clone Akira firmly stomping on the headband, "-Brats."

Everyone blanched and Sora called out to the twitching and writhing boy who slowly dragged himself up onto a knee while Agumon felt his anger surge and shot a pellet of fire at the man, who promptly rendered it moot by slashing it with his sheathed cleaver with such speed it might as well have been weightless as the speed came from a single hand on the middle section of the heavy hilt. He placed it back in after shooting a glare at the dinosaur, disarming him and forcing him to back down as everyone trembled apart from Matt and Gabumon, who had a fit of sweat again instead.

Matt tightened his stare at the water prison, _He said run, but that became unthinkable when he was caught. It doesn't seem like Kudamon has been released from the Surugan spell either, so no matter how fast we are, his clone will outpace us, and wipe us out… the only chance we have is if we get you out of there!_

Matt roared as he began charging, surprising Gabumon who chased after him as quick as his stumpy leg would let him, Akira's water clone raising a bald brow as the pair approached, Sora screaming after them while she and the others were frozen in place.

Matt proceeded to clutch at several shuriken from his pouch that bounced off the back of hip, and threw them all directly at the clone. Without conversing, Gabumon used his Blue Blaster on the twirling shuriken to make them burn with frosty, ethereal flames as they came up to Akira, who one again unholstered the sword from his back and swung the heavy blade, deflecting the burning shuriken with ease. However, Matt had vanished and Gabumon was firing another blast directly at the water clone, to which he abruptly pulled his cleaver back in front of him, defending him from the blast as Matt roared above him, coming down from around ten feet in the air with a kunai ready to plunge into the clone in a downward double grip.

As he approached, Matt noticed the clone smirking so clearly beneath the black facial mask as his hand blurred, clasping around Matt's throat in an instant and forcing him to release the kunai as he dangled in the air. After strangling him a second, Gabumon charged, but was repelled by a stern kick by the clone, who then threw Matt into the stunned wolf cub and sent them both careening yards away with the force.

"He got Matt!" Tai remarked to himself, turning back to find the clone had relocated in front of him, looming over like an obelisk as he quivered violently on the ground, _So this is an O'rin, a truly elite Tamer… if I don't run… he'll obliterate me! _He thought shakily as he turned and prepared to dart off before his hand panged and he looked down painfully at his hand, his scabbing already peeling away to reveal blood beneath the bandage. His face suddenly changed from desperate fear to a sullen look at the wound as he recalled the declaration he made not two hours ago.

_-I have gone through my entire life, living in misery and sorrow, watching people surpass me and taunt me. NO MORE! I swear on this wound, I will never run away or freeze again!_

Just two hours for that promise to be revoked…

"NO!" Tai hissed in whisper form, pulling himself to his feet and jumping back three clear feet, putting distance between him and Akira's clone, giving a look with fearless eyes, coupled with the ceasing of his trembling fit, _I'm finally a Tamer now… all of those ashamed looks Agumon's had to give because of me and my boasting… time to pay up to those boasts; I'll make him, Zaki-sensei… everyone proud of me! I can do this!_

Blindly, possibly stupidly, Tai began a blind charge accompanied by a herculean war cry at the clone, his teacher in the bubble giving him a disapproving and worried eyes, while Sora barked out, "Ah, stay back Tai, you idiot!"

The clone chortled, "… Brats are always foolish creatures…"

A loud smack sounded out and Tai rolled back across the dirt, his blood soiling the ground before the clone who had kicked him away as he landed.

Sora shook from head to toe and hunched over, her fists clenched, "What were you thinking, if Matt couldn't touch him, what chance did you have against him? We're K'rin, two ranks below his level and years of experience less than him!" she stopped mid-sentence as she noticed the boy gripping something in his hand as he stood up droopily.

_His headband? That's what he risked his life for just now? _She thought, feeling her cheeks burn a bit.

Matt retained his silence as he stood up as well, his neck ripe with a light green bruise.

Tai stood up, his head slanted down, with a powerful, almost snide smirk as blood dripped from his chin after falling from the smirk, "Hey, browless guy…" both Akira's tensed and had a pulsing vein at their temples, "you know that black book you mentioned? I think it needs an update… the man who will surpass the Senksha and become the greatest defender of the Hidden Terra Village…"

The real Akira cocked his head back, brows twitching in irritation.

"He never backs down from scum who flaunts his own power against kids; his name is Taichi Kamiya!" he proclaimed, adjusting and affixing his headband back under his gravity defying hair so that it could still be seen with his bloody smile.

Suddenly, he felt a burning in his pocket, rifling through it and pulling out a glowing object; his Digivice had erupted with orange energy, Akira staring directly at the object while all other members of Squad Seven (minus Ukitake, who looked lost), and in unison thought, _His Digivice is working?_

Following that thought, a glow emanated from bhind them as well, everybody turning to see Agumon flash with energy that erupted and blinded everybody present. When the light disappeared, Agumon had changed; a giant version of the dinosaur now stood there, blue patches on his orange skin and a much larger tail, while his head now had an ornament mask of sorts, dark brown with bull like horns.

The ten foot giant dinosaur looked down with piercing eyes, almost animalistic in nature as they stared down at the clone and at Tai's shoulders (he wasn't looking at his partner, but was focused).

"Tai, you helped me evolve into Greymon!" it howled as close to kindness as he could manage, "now we have a chance to defeat him!"

Tai thought on that a moment, "No, Greymon. I have a plan that will get us to win… Matt, be ready with Gabumon! You'll understand when it happens!"

Biyomon looked on in amazement of Greymon; records she and Sora researched a few days ago on their digital teammates showed that a Greymon hadn't been seen in nearly two centuries.

Akira's water clone scanned the new threat from toe to head, snorting in dismissal and laughing evilly, "Really… the little brat has a grand plan?"

Satsuma tried to ward them off again as the water clone stepped forward, but the rushing, steely water entering his mouth prevented another outburst; he was low on air as it is.

The giant dinosaur stepped forward, trembling the area as he went, his mouth brimming with flame as he cocked his large, masked head back and shot a much larger and more concentrated pellet of fire toward the clone called 'Nova Blast'. The clone, yet again, brushed it off with a swing of his blade, but raised a dust cloud as he did it, blinding him.

Matt stepped up, jumping high into the air again and focusing on the centre of the dust as he made the hand seals for his most powerful technique, holding the Tiger seal in front of his face, his cheeks inflating, "_Fire Form, Evergloam Blaze!_" his voice echoed as he released the blue fireball into the dust cloud, raising a small explosion of dissipating blue flames.

"_Water Form, Liquid Whip!_" the clone called out beneath the dust cloud, the water of the lake extending and condensing into a small lasso which rose in a flash and grabbed the blonde tightly by the ankle before throwing him down with authority, landing safely in Greymon's hand before the clone phased in the air before the dino's face, spinning in mid-air and planting his foot into the dinosaur's face, sending him onto his back as Matt leapt out of the claw and landed on his feet, only for the clone to hastily phase in front of him, placing his leg behind Matt's and tripping him, continuing on the momentum flow and planting his foot into Matt's sternum in a flipping motion, drawing blood from the boy in a violent, blood-curdling cough.

Grabbing the reeling boy by his jacket collar and throwing him back at the squad, Gabumon jumping and grabbing him before he rolled on the ground. Greymon also pulled himself to his feet, his towering presence now not as much of a bonus as they had initially thought (one kick by a human taking him down seemed impossible).

"Seriously, you thought you could use the title of Tamer to describe your pathetic rabble of a squad? When I was your age, I didn't falter; I stained my hands with the blood of my foes by myself, without trying to get the aid of an O'rin."

Everyone tensed as they listened, but noticed the water prison. All this time, Satsuma had been struggling against the steel like water and had formed a sequence of seals over several minutes. Now he adopted the Ram seal in the bubble, the real Akira looking passively, "So you finally managed to release the Surugan's spell… where is that ferret?"

"Here," Kudamon beckoned from Greymon's head, "the tales of your power were true… even the ones about your promotion to K'rin, by the looks of it…"

Biyomon, stood beside Sora and Ukitake toward the back of the clearing, squawked, "What'd he do… you said he wasn't normal before, didn't you?"

The ferret clenched atop the dinosaur's head, "Yes… he's renowned as the Scourge of the Tide because twenty years ago, the Tide had a barberric initiation trial for K'rin that judged if they would be detached killers. One year, an eight year old who had previously failed the practical technique exam appeared and displayed his power… and performed the taboo…"

"He did something taboo? What?" the bird's partner repeated, rubbing sweat away from her forehead and loosening her auburn hair from her sticky skin.

"The Land of Water was looked down upon amongst the Five Nations for the exam they used… but they were forced to change it one year, after an eight year old wandered in and slaughtered all other candidates in the fight to the finish battle of the candidates, even proving how determined he was by killing his assigned partner and absorbing his data, become empowered…"

"Yes, I had such fun back then…" Akira's clone exclaimed, looking at them with an exalted look of madness, "My friends, who ate with me, trained with me, laughed with me… and my partner died with a betrayed look on his face…"

The mad man phased out, reappearing with his elbow emplanted in Matt's stomach again, repelling him as Tai caught sight of the clone stomping on Matt, reaching over his shoulder for the hilt of his cleaver while the blonde writhed and gagged his groans behind muffled bloody coughs. Sora looked like she was about to faint as Akira's water clone finally grabbed the hilt of his blade, ready to lice Matt in half.

"That's it!" Tai barked as he charged, assuming his cross fingered seal, "_SHADOW BODY SPLITTING!_"

The clones appeared, encircling the clone as he held his blade in his holster, still ready to draw as he looked left and right, "Shadow clones…? Where does a brat like you learn something like this?"

He got no reply as the feet of all the Tai leapt into the air, blocking out the light from the sky as they fell, baring a downward stab pose with their kunai as the clone tipped his toe beneath Matt's motionless body and launched him away as he drew his sword and began a heavy swing as the clones all landed atop him, seemingly killing him. But they all shot off and burst into smoke as Akira repelled them all with a spinning slice, one of the clones pulling out a scroll and unfurling it as he skidded roughly on the dirt, planting his hand on it and summoning a giant folded up shuriken. Spinning around while still sliding, he threw it toward the doubled over Matt, who caught it and stiffened up.

_That was his plan…? He's actually got a good mind when it counts!_

Greymon felt a tingling in his chest and his body was enveloped in the golden light again, returning him into being Agumon, Kudamon still resting gently atop his head and watching. In his current form, the ferret had no chance, and without a Digivice, Satsuma would have to manually help in the process, which was beyond him right now.

When the glow was gone, Matt had unfolded the giant fuma shuriken, leaping into the air and twisting body to give it maximum speed and power.

The clone chortled evilly, "You really think a basic Tamer tool works against me-?" he stopped as the shuriken curved around him, its path becoming clear as it approached his real body.

"All this time, and they've only just figured that attacking a clone is useless?" he sighed as he grabbed the centre opening of the shuriken and stopped it, "Some students you have, Satsuma," he sarcastically hinted before noticing the shuriken was still coming even though he held it, "The shadow shuriken technique… it was hidden beneath the first shuriken!"

Sora gasped hopefully, "He can't possibly stop that one!"

Both arms occupied, one by the prison, and one by the shuriken, Akira leapt off of the water surface he stood on and landed after the shuriken passed, laughing coldly.

Matt, however, knew the truth of the matter…

Smoke spat out from the shuriken that had passed Akira, his eyes becoming slits and water dripping down his face as Tai appeared behind him in mid-air, throwing a kunai accurately on a straight course for the back of one of his lungs.

Panicked as the blade came closer, Akira dropped the spell by retracting his arm, releasing Satsuma from the water as he gasped for air, twirling the shuriken in his hand angrily as rage pulsed through his veins and suck out on his temples, "Upstart fool, die!" he bellowed as he went to throw it, meeting resistance half way through the process, allowing Tai to safely land in the water and float on the surface (Akira and Satsuma stood on the water).

Satsuma had one hand raised, entrapping the fuma shuriken bled with his thumb and index finger, his blood splattering from the small cut in his palm where the blades had touched. He looked up defiantly, his crimson Surugan practically piercing the flinching Akira.

"Satsuma-sensei!" Sora chirped.

"Taichi, Yamato. That was a brilliant battle tactic!" he praised, not peeling his Surugan away from the wide eyed gaze of Akira, who still held the shuriken intently, "Especially you, Tai. Coupled with the Digivolution you and Agumon achieved and this idea of yours… you've really matured from the exam I gave you." He noted, again not looking away.

Tai laughed as he cut the water to stay afloat, "It was simple, really. I realized that a simple straight on attack wouldn't work, so I though a diversion attack would; while my clones were repelled, I had one of my clones pass Matt the shuriken with me secretly doubling as it. Greymon's devolving wasn't planned on, but it gave us time for Matt to grab his own scroll and summon another shuriken for the shadow shuriken technique. The rest you just saw." He recalled proudly.

Matt frowned as he massaged his aching ribs, _Your forgetting that it would've failed if your partner hadn't run out of energy… don't get full of yourself._

"Bah," Akira chided, dismissing the water clone that reduced back into water on the soil, sloshing in with the blood, "you think a one trick pony that made me lose focus will stop me from killing you and the old man?"

"Focus?" Satsuma repeated atop the water, "Don't pull that; you were forced into dropping the spell, like that clone so you could reserve chikara. How does it feel, Yamamoto? To be outwitted by the K'rin remarked as the dimmest in our village?" he said, the man twitching voraciously as he dropped the shuriken and leapt backward, placing a distance between them on the water's surface.

"Try me, Satsuma. I'll kill you this time quickly."

"Try what you will, you won't capture me again."

Akira's hands flashed into a sequence of long seals that blurred to everyone's eyes except the Surugan user, who imitated them perfectly in time. For a moment, time seemed to freeze as they performed seal after seal, finally leading to a shuddering halt as they ended on Bird, the chikara making the air thick as the water beneath them shifted, Tai being pushed away by the shifting water ripples.

"_Water Form, Dragon Missile!_" they both announced, the water towering and protruding out and taking shape as two sloppy dragon creatures that charged at one another, a shockwave following as they clashed and the water that composed them was blown away in an instant, the others feeling their feet tremble with the force of water pressure.

Sora covered her eyes, as did Ukitake, _This is Genina, the elemental arts… it's so immense and pressurizing!_

When the water splashed back thunderously into the water of the lake, the two figures of the human O'rin became visible again, both with their own stances as the cleaver clashed with a kunai, both men trembling with the train of trying to overpower the other.

Matt was amazed, _So many hand seals, and he copied them all flawlessly with his Surugan!_

Akira, although focused in his struggle, had his thoughts elsewhere, _Impossible… the Surugan can comprehend any technique and seals required and mirror them, but for both to happen simultaneously would usually mean he has the same proficiency as me at the technique… that eye is something to be feared…_

Leaping back, the two men ran around and circled each other like a mirror, even assuming the sam hand seal (Ram, after the cleaver was holstered), causing Akira to momentarily freeze, Satsuma mimicking him, _He's actually…_

Ukitake, still stunned by the battle, input, "He's mimicking him… to the very last twitch…"

Sora pondered for a moment before looking across to Biyomon, "How is he doing that, Biyomon?"

"I'm not quite sure, Sora," the bird replied hesitantly.

Akira had a pulsating vein pop on his head again, and his masked mouth might as well have been grinding, _Even my very basest movements… he's copying them all. How can he possibly-_

"Do that, I wonder?" Satsuma ended his thought for him, moving in synch still with the Tide warrior, "He's just a mere imitation- he can't possibly out do me!" he said, still repeating his thoughts, making Akira feel bare and disgruntled.

"Incredible… maybe it's a Seiina… I was glaring into his eyes for a while…"

"… while so maybe he is just messing with my head." He finished for him again.

He snapped, assuming a Tiger seal pose which Satsuma dutifully imitated exactly, Akira glaring at him until his vision began distorting and a shadow loomed over the back of his opponent. The spectre eventually formulated itself into a wraith like image of himself, "What is this…?"

Meanwhile, Satsuma continued with the seals, ending on Bird again and performing the technique Akira had planned to before seeing the spectre, "_Water Form, Vortex Wave!_"

The water at his feet distorted again, rising up and swirling in mid-air like saw before shooting into the rogue, who snapped out of his trance with realization as he crashed against multiple trees and obstructions in the mighty wave, _Of course, I was under a Seiina by looking into his eyes! He used it to implant the thought of this very technique in my mind and made me see the spectre illusion to make me freeze while he readied it…!_

The water finally separated from the blast shockwave, sending him twirling into a nearby tree with a painful crash, accompanied by several burning sensations in his arms and legs as he hunched over; several kunai implanted in his limbs as Satsuma appeared on the branch of the tree above him, holding a kunai ready for deployment into his skull as he shot a filthy glare up at his enemy.

"Now then, Akira Yamamoto… it is time for you to die."

Before he could even stretch to throw the kunai, several senbon flew in from an unknown direction and engrossed themselves into the rogue's neck, causing him to judder before crashing to the ground with dull finality. The O'rin tracked the senbon angle and found himself gazing at a strange, masked boy atop a tree branch.

"You were right… his time came." The boy chuckled beneath his mask. It was a common white mask with fire spreading from the bottom left upwards, his hair tie in a bun atop his head that still allowed his bangs to hang down the side of his face. His clothes were comparable to a baggy kimono coloured beige and he wore wooden sandals compared to the rudimentary blue rubber sandals.

Satsuma leapt down, walked over to Akira's body and felt for a pulse on his neck. Nothing.

He leered upwards, "You Digital Hunters are relentless. He's been hit in some dangerous areas indeed… quite the aim you have there…"

xxx

_Matt's Tamer Technique Knowledge,_

_Surugan is a rare form of ocular power found only in select members of the Ishida bloodline, like me. Its main area of prowess is in the allowing of enhanced vision, hand seal memorization and to assimilate a blood contract Digimon partner's conscience into your own by a special technique unique to the Ishida alone. It allows double perception, analytical abilities and twice the reasoning on the battlefield, creating a formidable Tamer._

_When mine awakens, Gabumon and I will be unstoppable against guys like Akira._

_That's a vow._

_Yamato_

xxx

**A/N: **Slightly shorter than usual, but I always found Kakashi vs Zabuza part one to be a little tedious. So I snipped a few parts to shorten it but it should be just as good!

Also, partner assimilation like what Akira did to become a Tamer makes a human comparable in strength to at least an Ultimate level Digimon, coupled with training.

Just saying.


	6. Episode Six

**A/N: **Episode six is now up prominently, and it seems fanfare is growing gradually, which is very good!

Also, to the two reviewers, thank you for the kind words.

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Six: Pain! The Lessons Begin!**_

…

_Black Book of Terra_

_Foreign Entry #125, Akira Yamamoto_

_Inquiry Origin: The Land of Water to all other Great Nations._

_Classification: B Rank criminal_

_Crimes: Failed coup d'état against the Fourth Ekisha, coupled with catastrophic fire damage caused to the Hidden Tide Village during his escape with followers._

_Skills: Master of the Flash Step technique, allowing him to perform assassination in an instant. Tekina skills are bordering a Digimon's physical power due to his partaking in the abandoned practise of partner absorption, giving him enhanced strength. Also, he is a master of water based techniques. _

…

The Digital Hunter stood atop the tree limb, high in the air, the small slits in the mask allowing him to look down on his victim's body and Satsuma, who looked back up at him with a spliced expression of disapproval and semblance.

Meanwhile, Tai struggled against the leftover force in the water from the conflicting water dragon missiles, grabbing a root exposed on the eroded area of the bank where Satsuma's last technique had blasted Akira away. Tugging on the root, he eventually pulled himself back on land, dripping with water as he spotted the masked boy who had killed the man he had failed in fighting so easily with senbon.

Satsuma, placing his shades back on from his pouch, looked up at the boy again.

"Thank you very much," the boy's innocent voice pleasantly stated as he bowed down, his lengthy black bangs flopping as he did so on the branch, "I have been hunting Akira Yamamoto for a long time; any longer and my personal record would have been tarnished!" he bantered as he straightened up on the tree limb.

"I wasn't aware that there was another presence here," he looked over to the Squad on the opposite side of the lake, "Kudamon is a sensor, and yet he didn't inform me of your presence…"

"Well, as a… specially trained member of the Tide military, I know how to eliminate my presence to even the highest ranked sensory Tamer." He informed as a chilled wind cascaded the leaves between the two.

"By your mask, you are with the Digital Hunters; the special assassination squad of the Hidden Tide," the O'rin recited, "you people are renowned Tamers who work individually on the most intricate missions in the Tide…"

"Well, well… you are well informed, I see, Terra Tamer," the boy pleasantly complimented, not easing the stare from behind the O'rin's shades, "of course, you have begun teaching about us at your educational facility."

Tai walked slowly toward Satsuma, noticing Sora and the others (Gabumon helping Agumon by his arm) feet away, having crossed the lake edge, "Sora, this guy's a Hunter, stay sharp!"

"You don't even know what one is," she shot him a disapproving glare, "you were out fooling around during the lesson on them. Hunters are specially trained Tamers who work individual to bring down rogues. Akira and others like him carry secrets, such as genetic superiority, markings and weaponry that can expose a nation's weakness. To combat this, the Tide Village began using Hunters to track down and destroy the body of the rogue to prevent any danger to the village."

"Correct," the masked Hunter kindly remarked, his tone indicating a gentle smile beneath his mask.

Kudamon, now perched around Sora's neck after Agumon got injured and burned all his energy, thought deeply for a moment, _Judging by his height and voice… he can't be older than these K'rin, and yet he's been trained to the point of avoiding detection by a sensor type like me…_

Tai ran up to Akira's body as quick as he could, getting a hubris look from his teacher who ceased staring at the boy to look at him. Looking at the powerful, fallen warrior before him, Tai felt rage and humiliation bubble inside him as he pointed accusingly up at the boy, who cocked his head back in interest.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" he roared, "WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH THAT?"

Satsuma strafed over and planted a tap on his shoulder, grabbing the K'rin's attention, "Easy now, Taichi. He is not the enemy, so don't challenge or provoke him."

Tai was not quelled by this, and his chest inflated and deflated rapidly, "BUT HE TOOK DOWN AKIRA, WHO WAS LIKE A MONSTER, INSTANTLY, WITH NEEDLES!" he huffed, "WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE COMPARED TO HIM; WE'RE PRACTICALLY STANDING STILL!"

Squad Seven took his words to heart, and their faces dropped slightly and their eyes became dulled.

"Regardless, what happened; happened," Satsuma responded by releasing a hearty hum, planting his hand on the boy's head, making his cheeks burn as he was being belittled slightly, "Now, now. You need to realise something, Taichi- there are humans in this world younger than you, but by far more powerful than me. Humans have become strong in the Digital World, and it shows."

They hadn't even notice the masked Hunter had moved until he was beside Akira's body, hunching over and placing a hand gently on his shoulder blade and assuming a strange hand seal with his free hand, a half Tiger seal with his index finger wrapped around by his middle finger.

"I shall leave you to your own personal mission," the boy remarked kindly again, "I must deal with the body. Many secrets of the old practises exist in this body; I'm sure you're sensei has informed you what I mean. Farewell." And like that, the boy and the body he was touching on the back vanished with the wind, a bursting cascade of leaves that once composed their bodies now floating unnaturally against the wind and out of sight.

Tai crumbled at his knees, and angrily began pulverizing the dirt below him in aggravation, "What is the point of us being here…? We can't protect the old man; we're weak!" he cried amongst the plethora of pounding sounds as he punched the ground.

Sora pulled her arms almost defensively to her face, "Tai…"

Surprisingly, Kudamon leapt off of Sora's neck and slinked over to Tai, stopping him with his ghostly stub of an arm, catching the enraged boy's attention, "Save your strength for the enemy, don't waste it showing doubt; it'll get you killed."

Satsuma turned around to the rest of the group, "Well, we've still got a 'C' Rank mission to finish; get the bridgebuilder to his bridge and keep him alive until he finishes the project."

Ukitake let out a hearty guffaw as he rummaged his straw hat, "Sorry about all that trouble you went through for me! As a way to repay you, I'll let you stay at my house in the village!"

As Satsuma went to take a step, he collapsed without warning, letting out a groan before his body slackened and relaxed on the soil, Tai and the others quickly gathering beside him, bickering about what had happened while his ferret partner coolly twirled around Gabumon's head, showing no concern.

…

Satsuma's eyes opened again, staring up at a ceiling with obvious indications of damp patches. Looking to his side, there was a woman, in her youthful years with gorgeous blue hair running down to her shoulders, while she wore a simple lengthy skirt and plain white shirt.

"I overdid it with my Surugan… I can't move to well…" he mumbled, _Coupled with being submerged for nearly seven full minutes…_

"Well, just rest then. It's already been a day since you arrived atop a strange ghost wolf." She said, referencing Reppamon as Satsuma fell back into the simple mat bed he laid in as the Squad and Ukitake sauntered in, noticing that he was awake.

"Hey, Satsuma-sensei's awake!" Sora exclaimed, rushing over and kneeling at his bedside with a relieved smile on her face, "Sensei, if the Surugan is so powerful, it was obvious that it would take its toll on you!" she scolded.

"Sorry…" the O'rin dejectedly replied.

Ukitake scratched the back of his head, "Well, you're safe here in my house for a while, since one of the most powerful assassins is dead, they'll be cautious."

"About that," Sora began meekly, pulling her finger to her chin, "that boy with the mask… what about him?"

"He's from the elite Hunters unit in the Hidden Terra Village."

"What do they do?"

"Every Nation possesses a certain black ops group named akin to their purpose. The DATS squad is elite Tamers in every Nation that takes on the duties of hunting down rogues, earning them the moniker Hunter. After killing the rogues, they destroy all traces of the body, as it possesses certain chikara, information and secrets that could hurt the village. For instance, if I died, my Surugan would surely be analysed, and in the worst case, the secrets of my eye's power could be revealed to an enemy nation. It is the Hunters responsibility to prevent this eventuality by killing the target and obliterating his body."

oOo

Elsewhere, the masked hunter unfurled a wrapping of tools, unlatching a pair of scissors and getting them in his fingers grip, "Now, to drain the blood circulating in the sealed off arteries I hit…"

He froze as he felt a powerful clasp at his wrist, looking down to find Akira's hand locked around the wrist that held scissors toward him, pulling his facial mask down to reveal his devilish sneer and fanged teeth, "I'll do it myself, Gomen, you barbaric lunatic!"

"Oh, awake already, are we?" he said as Akira not so gently yanked out the senbon implanted in his neck, a small rain of blood droplets spreading on the soil beneath him as he sat up and cracked his neck, "you really shouldn't yank them like that; sealing off the arteries beside the jugular and forcing the brain into a temporary shutdown will affect your health unless undone gently…" he said, concern radiating from beneath his mask.

"How long are you planning to wear that antique of a mask?" the warrior queried angrily, snapping his neck sideways and noticing his blade entrenched in the ground like a grave marker, "And where might Mamomon be?"

"I have good memories as my days as a real Hunter," he muttered as he removed the mask, revealing a quite feminine face with buldging black eyes and a Tide headband beneath his bangs, "as for Mamomon, he's back at the base, soothing Dosu as he waits for you to return."

"One word of warning, Gomen. Putting me in a false death state is fine, but not by sealing of my arteries and pinpointing the pressure points in my neck!" he hubrisly added as he spat out some blood.

"What choice did I really have at the time? The neck is the one area that a human cannot sufficiently develop their muscles, allowing me to easily put you into an instantaneous state of false death. If you want me to try doing it in a different vital spot next time, you'll only complain about the scars." He said, a strange blush appearing on his face as he explained himself.

"So cunning, cruel and yet so pacifistic… you are indeed a strange Tamer, Gomen." Akira input as he went to stand up, his legs unable to manage his weight, "I see that your skills have given my legs some trouble…"

"Well, I'm still a kid, so my aim isn't perfect. Give it a few minutes and your heart should have compensated the blood deficiency in your limbs," Gomen stood up and peered at the sea, the mist now having cleared, "will you be alright next time, or do you want me with you?"

"Next time, the Surugan will fail; nothing has every worked on me twice, NOTHING." Akira assured.

oOo

_What is this feeling… Akira's dead, I saw it with my own eyes, and I checked for a pulse. But something doesn't add up…_

"Sensei?" Sora beckoned, the bedded man returning to a seated position in the mat bed.

"Hm…?" he mumbled, "Right, anyway, as I was saying, Hunters destroy the body upon the moment of death, yet the boy we saw took it away elsewhere… he should have destroyed it that second, but instead he went against regulations and took it elsewhere, possibly leaving a blood sample behind and rendering his mission moot. Also, he didn't use ordinary Tamer equipment like kunai, do you remember what he used?"

Agumon spoke up, "Throwing needles, senbon, I think they're called."

"No way!" Matt exclaimed, realization setting in as his partner looked up curiously at him.

"Yes, I'm afraid Akira's still alive." He ignored the dumbfounded faces around him, "Hunters are heavily drilled on precision and accuracy, and have a doctor's level knowledge of the nervous system to quickly dispose of enemies. Yet that kid aimed at the neck, a usually vital area, but with senbon, it isn't fatal. Placing a temporary death state onto a person is child's play for them; that Hunter didn't save us from Akira, he saved Akira from a losing battle!"

A sombre silence followed, Satsuma taking notice of Tai in particular, who looked to be trembling in excitement, coupled with a loose smirk, _He's actually glad about Akira's survival… interesting…_

"But, Satsuma-sensei!" Sora cried, "How are we supposed to prepare for that then? Even you hardly managed to defeat him, and you're an O'rin!"

"Sora, why was I able to defeat him after I was imprisoned?" he reasoned, kindness in his tone, "Because you all helped me. Kudamon was unable to help either, so that's no excuse. It's because you all worked together; you've grown." He said confidently as the aforementioned ferret practically appeared out of nowhere, assuming his favourite perch, "Taichi, you've grown the most, in both my eyes and Kudamon's."

Sora looked across to Tai, who's cheeks burned from the compliment, _That's true, he is stronger himself… more confident in his plans, and he even managed to activate his Digivice and make Agumon Digivolve, still…_

"Also," Satsuma added, garnering the six young student's attention, "while I may be unable to move freely, I can still train you three K'rin, while Kudamon takes care of training your partners."

"All right, now with that training, we can all get stronger and everything will be okay!" Tai exclaimed, oblivious to the short statured pessimist behind him.

"No, nothing will be okay!" a little boy's voice complained, all of them turning to find a short child in denim shorts, sandals and a white shirt. His black hair fell beneath his large, encompassing hat, "Grandpa!" he cried, running over excitedly into the arms of Ukitake, who joyously returned a hug.

"Kyon, that was beyond rude!" his mother scolded harshly, "apologise, these Tamers are the reason your grandfather is still with us safely!"

"Oh, that's alright, I belittle them too!" Ukitake added with a fit of roaring laughter following. Kyon stayed in the safety of his grandfather's arms as he stared down the entirety of Squad Seven.

"Mom," Kyon pleaded, releasing himself from the hug, "why are these people still here? If they don't leave, Dosu will send his men and they'll be wiped out!"

"What did you say, kid? That guy can send who he likes," Tai thrust a thumb indignantly into his chest, "heroes like me and my friends will wipe the floor with them!"

Kyon looked up and down the brown haired Tamer with dismissive eyes, "Hero? You're dumb. In the Land of Squalls, only one thing is certain; heroes are idiots who always die real fast!" he berated.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Tai barked as he lurched forward, fist coiled while Sora grabbed him from behind to prevent him hurting the little boy. Kyon snorted as he raced past them, and the temps of his feet pitter-pattering on the wooden stairs sounded faint as Tai cooled down.

Minutes later, Tai followed up the rickety flight of stairs to the second floor, complete with sliding paper doors and a narrow corridor like you'd find in a Japanese school. Two moss encrusted windows peered out onto the ocean as Tai pouted and walked by, looking for Kyon.

He heard a faint sniff as he got to the end of the hall, opening the paper door a smidge and peering in, finding Kyon's back to him, hunched over his desk with a photo in front of him. Although it was at a distance, Tai could make the shapes out as the boy and a Digimon.

Kyon struggled to sap in a little air before almost gagging on it as his eyes swimmed with falling tears, dripping onto the ancient wooden desk, "Gomamon…" he blubbered before becoming nonsensical. Tai realized he shouldn't intrude, so he slid the door closed completely before disappearing down the stairs again.

oOo

An hour later, the human element of Squad Seven ad relocated with Satsuma to a forest clearing, the O'rin straggling around on an afforded crutch Ukitake had for his occasionally crippling back pain. The Digimon, led by Kudamon, had vanished for extensive training, mostly to help Agumon manage to go Champion easier and to help the other two along. Satsuma decided they would be summoned only in an emergency to avoid disrupting their training.

"Alright then, we'll begin with a small recap. You all know the functions and purpose of chikara, correct?"

"Yes," Matt and Sora quickly responded.

"Do I need to…?" Tai slowly, in defeat, answered.

"Yes, of course you do, Taichi!" Satsuma scolded, looking over to Sora, "Sora, you've got the greatest knowledge amongst the Squad, so can you fill him in?"

"Sure, now listen up, Tai!"

_Lesson on Chikara, courtesy of the Tamer Goddess,_

"Chikara is a natural life source in all living beings, and it acts as energy, a mixture of spiritual, physical and digital energies humans have developed in the eons they've lived in the Digital World. Humans can strengthen their chikara through intensive training and experience, and with the use of hand seals, can encrypt a program into the digital environment around them, allowing the use of techniques that rival the powers of Digimon themselves.

"Right on all marks," Satsuma proudly announced, "Zaki-sensei really had a magnificent class this year, didn't he?"

"What's the point in knowing all that though; I'm using techniques anyway, so I know on instinct how to use my chikara." Tai pointed out, Matt nodding in rare agreement.

"Chikara does so much more for a Tamer. Manipulation is a key factor to achieving advanced Tamer skills. Recall how Akira and I walked on water, clung off of trees and enhanced our strength? We manipulated our chikara, something I'm going to teach you the very basics of today." He chuckled, "This will give you an idea also about how to conserve energy while gaining a more powerful result from your technique while learning a new technique. It's a practise that will kill two birds with one stone, essentially."

"What do we do to achieve all that?" Sora asked, befuddled at the immenseness of the task.

Satsuma chuckled again, using his free hand to point mockingly in the air, "Climb a tree. A simple, yet effective, training method."

"CLIMB A TREE?" they all exclaimed in disappointment.

"Correct. One rule applies; you cannot use your hands."

Sora sighed and gave him a slanted look, "You've got to be kidding… we can't climb a tree without our hands, we'd fall off."

"But that's the trick I'm going to teach you three now." He mumbled, balancing his armpit on his crutch as he assumed the Ram seal with a grunt, and began waddling over to a nearby tree. All three stared on in wonderment as he placed his feet on the tree and began walking straight up the tree, using his crutch still, as if he controlled gravity.

"How is he doing that…?" Tai mumbled in amazement.

"D-don't know…" Sora replied with a stammer.

Reaching a high up tree limb, Satsuma ceased his gravity defying stroll and stood still, upside down under the thick branch and looking down at his students, "You get the idea. To achieve this, focus chikara in a steady flow to your feet and climb. Take it slowly, as it'll be painful if you fall," he reached into his pouch without any equipment falling out of it as he pulled out three kunai and threw them down before the three individually, "Use those to mark your progress on your chosen tree."

A moment later, the man had stumbled down the tree again like it was a stroll and placed his feet on the ground again, moving aside as all three assumed the Ram hand seal, mirroring the man's actions as he watched them charge at their chosen tree.

Tai's attempt led him to the tree at impressive running velocity, and when he planted his chikara infused feet into the base of the tree, Tai felt it cling tightly as he lifted his leg of the ground and did the same, finding his weight to be a detriment as, four steps up, he succumbed to his weight and tumble down backwards, cracking his head into the exposed root beneath him and making him writhe as he shielded the bump on his head.

Matt's went far better, as he got to the fourth step without the issue of his weight, which seemingly became a non-factor as his balance seemed natural due to the grip in the soles of his sandals. Running up, he eventually heard a snapping sound at his right foot and, eyes widening, slashed the tree as his own chikara repelled him from the bark, leaving a clear dent where is last step was beneath his kunai cut.

Matt scanned the tree carefully, _This is difficult… my weight seems to vanish as a factor when I apply a strong level of energy into my feet, allowing me to cling to the tree like it was the ground. But eventually I applied to much pressure and the tree gave way, repelling me. In Tai's case, he applied to little chikara and his weight counteracted his momentum from the run up, upsetting his chikara flow and making him fall._

Satsuma looked from behind them, reviewing their techniques at tree climbing, "Well, I expected that much from both of them at the beginning…"

"THIS IS FUN!" Sora's soft voice chirped from high above, all three looking up in reverence as Sora had made it to the top of her tree and was sitting on a thick branch, sticking her tongue out playfully at them.

Satsuma reviewed her as well, _She was revered in my dossier on these three at being skilled with chikara control… not to mention that females have easier access and maintenance of their energy. Tai and Matt's energies far exceed hers, so it would be harder on them to find the right balance to release into the tree._

"That's awesome, Sora!" Tai happily praised, _Even if it does tick me off…_

Satsuma decided to incite a fire in the two of them, "You know, for someone who claims he'll be the greatest Senksha ever, she's easily surpassing you, not to mention the tarnishing to the name Ishida if their heir is outdone by Sora." He put sarcastically on purpose.

Tai and Matt piqued to this, tightening their grip on the kunai as they looked over to and glared daggers at each other.

_There we go… they both look motivated now…_

In the distance, overlooking the clearing from behind the stumpy bark of a tree was Kyon, looking sullen and complacent from his hiding spot before he began to walk off, "Idiots… if they want to die as well, they can."

oOo

Back at the cocoon like hideout, in a bare room graced only by a bed with a purple quilt that covered Akira, Gomen sat silently on a wooden chair beside the bed as the door creaked open, Akira not looking and Gomen not turning his head to face Dosu and two common thugs carrying sheathed blades.

"Well, well… the Scourge of the Tide… you look like a whipped poodle; not the elite O'rin who declared he'd settle this himself." Dosu chortled, riveting his tiny, rotund frame as it became deeper and darker. The two thugs held diligently onto the hilt of their swords.

Gomen, still not looking, tightened his eye lids as he heard a clack, indicating they were about to draw them as the fat corporate leader began gingerly striding to the side of the bed, reaching for Akira's mask, only to have his hand gripped and torn away from Akira's face, as he looked in the eyes of a humanoid beast.

The beast was blue furred, but stood like a human with its hind legs, leading up to its brown shorts with spiked apparel. Its bare chest was muscular, showing beneath the fur, and its arms were held in arm band sleeves, claws protruding out at the hands. Its face was covered by a half mask that extended from the tip of its wolf like nose to the ears, a red eye design emblazoned on the front of the mask.

"Mamomon… you're breaking my arm…!" Dosu cried, his two guards readying their blades and drawing them. But in a flash, their swords were gone as the finished drawing, the blades aimed at their necks by Gomen, who stood in the centre with a determined face of rising anger.

"You'd be wise not to touch Master Akira. I'm in a foul mood and won't hesitate to kill you all, regardless of Mamomon." The boy rasped.

Backing off, the three retreated to the doorway, Dosu barking like a defeated dog, "One chance! You have one chance left, and I cut you loose. Let's see you avoid you're tracers after I stop covering for you," he turned and walked through the archway, "let's go!" and he shut the door behind him with a bang.

"Gomen, that wasn't necessary. You and your Digimon partner should have stayed out." Akira growled, not fazing Gomen and the silent Mamomon, who vanished in the shadows whence he came.

"But I had to scare them off before you killed them," he explained, sitting down on the wooden chair again, "and if you had, the Hunters would have a fresh trail; remember, Dosu's still our best cover, we can kill him later."

Akira grumbled in the bed, "Fine…"

oOo

Tai, falling on the same root in the same area of his head for what seemed to be the hundredth time, he grovelled in anguish and soothed his bump while Matt catched his breath, his markings reaching up to fourteen feet off the ground while Tai managed around eight. Sora repeated the exercise, but became worn out and laid against the bark of her tree, gasping for air after several attempts.

_I'm so tired! _Her inner self complained,_ how can those guys keep on going and going…?_

Her gaze wandered to Tai's tree and the markings.

She snorted inwardly, _Tai's made no progress at all, and he's been at the same area for an hour! Any minute now he'll throw a tantrum and give up!_

Tai stood up, still rubbing the acing part of his head, looking up and grunting in anger.

_There we go, he's such a kid!_

"Hey, Sora…" he mumbled with shame as he hunched beside the exhausted girl, placing his hand between his hand and her ear and whispering, "Do you have any advice? You seem really good at it!"

Sora looked befuddled.

"But please don't tell Matt I asked for help… please?" he begged.

Sitting against a tree nearby, Satsuma watched as Tai asked for pointers, his smile broad and full of pride, _He's finally catching on to the aspect of comradeship… he's going to grow up extremely strong… he may not realize it now, but he has a far greater chikara than either of his teammates, higher than mine, as well._

…

The next morning, hammers and drills thundered as construction on the bridge continued, Tai and Matt still training while Satsuma was confined to bedrest. Sora alone sat atop a mountain of steel girders, hoping no assassins came so that she wouldn't disturb Biyomon's training. He face in her palms, she sighed as the fourth hour of nothing eventful past, filling her with great relief and contradicting dread at the same time.

Ukitake, wearing a hard helmet and slinging a wooden support beam over his shoulder like it was nothing, passed by as she sighed again, "You always this lazy? What happened to that weird kid with the puffy hair and the one with the attitude?"

"They're training hard, climbing trees!" she informed.

"Too tough for you?"

She got a wide smirk on her face and blushed slightly, "No, this time, I'm the best, meaning I've been assigned to guard you today."

"Well, this beam'll be good for defending myself I guess…" he dismissed, placing the beam down on a set of other beams while Sora burned intensely atop the girders, baring her teeth.

"Um… Chojiro…" a man walked up behind him, hard helmet in hand, "I… well, I want out of this project."

"WHAT!" Ukitake roared at his worker, "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS, WE'RE THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY FINISHED- IT'LL BE JUST ONE MORE WEEK!" he tried to reason.

"Exactly, one more week. Meaning the dwarf will send an army of thugs eventually, and wipe us all out- I stuck with you through this because I've known you since we were little, but my wife cried at me last night to ditch this while I still could. You should do the same, Chojiro."

Sora looked on as Ukitake's formerly broad shoulders dropped a little, but nevertheless shot back, "Never; this is our symbol of hope for the Land of Squalls; once this is finished next week, trade and communication will bring life to our land. But for that to come to fruition, Aoi, we need to be brave and believe."

"Believing won't feed my widow and my kids; I'm sorry, Chojiro, it's nothing personal." Aoi sentimentally added as he trudged away toward the land.

…

Elsewhere, in the same forest clearing, Tai and Matt gasped desperately for air, looking in reference to their trees. Although Matt was slightly higher, Tai was fast catching up; they had both reached over twenty feet on their trees, miraculously better than the day before, as the dents from them applying to much pressure fade at around eighteen feet, showing that they could maintain a perfect flow, but now needed to be able to summon the chikara necessary, which was the final aim of their task.

…

Sora and Ukitake were now heading through the main street on their way back to the house several hours later, but were going to pass by the store to grab some food for dinner. Looking around, all Sora could see was garbage and children lying on it as if they were pillows. The looked malnourished, as if on death door.

Entering the store, the stands were very thin in variety, and extended to very poorly grown vegetables like leeks, carrots and cabbage; even then, there were only around two to each of the six stands.

"Why is the food so poor, Mr. Ukitake?" Sora asked almost begrudgingly; this Dosu forced people to live like this?

"The Land of Squalls is separated by a few miles of sea to the Terra Village and land. Here, squalls in the ocean nearby infest our soils with unhealthy amounts of salt water, reducing farm productivity and rarely giving any vegetation." He explained as he got a small paper bag and crammed two celery sticks and three carrots in, pulling his wallet out and handing over a literal wad of cash to the storeminder.

A shady individual in a trach coat and a filthy country hat stumbled in and notice Sora's bag that carried her lunch earlier, but was rather empty now. Reaching in carefully, he accidently brushed her backside, bringing on the wrath of a demon as the girl squealed, turned and kicked the man in the head, her Tamer strength sending him crashing into the floor, out cold.

Back on the street, Sora's cheeks burned while Ukitake guffawed, holding the food in his bag, "Well, gotta say, you don't look like much compared to your friends, but you put up a hell of a fight, unlike most girls around here!"

"Well, they should put up a fight-" she stopped as she felt a tug at her behind again, readying her fist as she swirled around, stopping as she recognized a scrappy little girl, hands outstretched and begging.

A powerful pang seared her heart as she froze for a second, scanning the child. Reaching into her bag, she found in her lunchbox from her mother a leftover toffee, which she handed over to the girl, who thanked her and skipped merrily away, leaving Sora with a tear swimming in her left eye, which she wiped away promptly.

"It's been that way since last year… Dosu is a cruel dictator who has taken all of the stocks for himself and passes leftovers to the stores. Orphans like that girl can only beg, day in, day out until she finally gives out. But, once my bridge is finished, trade and commerce will rise, Dosu will be imprisoned for barbaric ruling and we'll finally be able to feed our families with real food; not leftover scraps." The old man growled dismally as he walked back toward the house, Sora racing to catch up.

…

Tai and Matt were exhausted, but finally at the apex of their trees, kunais in hand as they huffed for air.

Matt casually noted to his training rival, "Want to head back?"

"Sure, I need some food!" Tai replied quickly.

…

Now back in the house after a hard day's work, Tai and Matt were slumped over the wooden dinner table, their bowls empty while the others continued eating the rice and salad provided. Not a typical choice, but considering the state of the Land of Squalls, understandable.

Sora rose from her seat and walked over to the wall, where a picture frame hung with a picture of the smiling trio; Kyon, his mother and Ukitake. But in the bottom left hand corner, there was a distinct tear, with a big chunk of the image missing, "Why's this picture torn? It looks like a piece has been removed."

Ukitake put his bowl down slowly, before letting out a constricted sigh, "It… it was an image of a Digimon that was very close to all of us."

Kyon slammed his bowl down and stormed off through the door into the dark corridor, his mother chasing after him, but not before scolding her father, "You know how he feels about that, how could you even mention it-?" she barked before chasing him into the corridor.

"A… Digimon?" Satsuma repeated from his seat, "Didn't you inform me that everyone on this island had a problem with Digimon; that they attacked them?"

"I… lied to you again… I wanted to spare my grandson's feelings…" he mumbled weakly, his voice cracked in half from its usual forcefulness, "Dosu hasn't used Digimon to attack, it'd cost too much, so he uses human thugs. The Digimon that isn't in the picture is called a Gomamon."

"Gomamon," Sora recited as if from a book, "an amphibian dog like Digimon with the ability of attracting fish."

"Indeed, that is why he is recognized as a hero; or martyr, depending on your take… those looks earlier your partners got from that old lady weren't of hatred, but memories of Dosu, and what he did to Gomamon… you see, Kyon never had a father, but he one day found an astray Gomamon on the seashore… he said it treated him like a kid, like his child with such care. That may sound strange, a Digimon treating a human like their child, but it was that bond that temporarily liberated us from the starvation six months ago. He used the power of summoning fish to help us get a large quantity of food, but with our men fed and hope given to the people, Dosu feared a rebellion. So he tracked down that poor creature just two months ago while I was gone, and had it tortured in public to break the spirit of the people completely, as the food supplier had gone. Kyon was broken beyond repair as he was forced to watch his little father figure of a friend be tortured and destroyed…" tears fell into his bowl through his thin silver goatee as he wiped his eyes.

"Destroyed…?" Tai callously repeated, looking to Satsuma, "What does he mean destroyed?"

His teacher looked at him haughtily, "He's referring to when a Digimon dies, and its body breaks up into data fragments, leaving no body. Its theorized they are reborn, but many years down the line… unless they are purged, and their data is completely destroyed."

There was a silence that ensued after while the old man composed himself; Tai thinking deeply to himself before going to leave the room, only to fall over.

Satsuma informed him, "Taichi, you shouldn't move too much; the chikara exertion is effecting your body. You'll have the day off tomorrow."

"No!" he rebuked, getting back onto his feet shakily, "I will prove to that kid that hanging on to the past won't make things better; I'm gonna prove to that kid that hard work always makes things better! This time I'm gonna get to the top of the trees more than once."

…

"Sensei," Sora yawned at the breakfast table the following morning, "shouldn't we be looking for Tai; he might have passed out in the forest on his own."

Kyon's mother gave out the helpings of rice in a bowl on a tray to the gathered group, "I'm concerned for the boy as well, Master Rentarou."

"Don't worry, Tai's a full-fledged Tamer; he's been trained for worse situations, so he cdan handle himself." Satsuma remarked as he said grace and began eating the rice.

Matt, however, wasn't convinced, "Sora's right; Tai's such a loser, he could be out there dead." He said definitively as he stood up and went for the front door, putting his Tamer sandals on.

"Matt?" Sora said between chewing.

"I'm going for a walk." And he left the house.

oOo

Tai was lying flat on his back, sleeping in the centre of the clearing, covered with scuffs and cuts from falls he had through the night. Animals like squirrels stood atop him, to which he responded by unconsciously rubbing his stomach.

Over in the distance, a person was gathering herbs into a basket, the bird chirping from a perch on their shoulder being matched by a feminine hum before the pink kimono wearing person noticed Tai and walked over.

They took note of Tai's headband, flinching and hunching over, their hands getting closer and closer to his neck, but rather landed on his shoulder and shook him awake.

Grumbling, the K'rin stared up at the girlish figure before him, staring at her with reverence.

"Are you okay, child?" they kindly asked. That voice tinged at Tai; he had definitely heard something like it recently…, "Well, are you?"

"Y-yeah…" he stammered, shaking his head to wake up fully, "what are you doing out here, sister?"

Apparently she didn't take that too well, but kept her gentle tone, "I'm out picking herbs to heal my friend; why could you possibly be out here for," she looked at his headband, "Tamer of the Hidden Terra Village."

"I'm training!" he chirped back.

"Why would you need to train; from what I've heard, being a Tamer means your strong regardless, so why push it?"

"I want to become stronger and stronger; my dream is to surpass the greatest Tamer in my village! Then everyone will stop disrespecting me and look up to me!" he announced, the Third Senksha coming to mind (or so Satsuma and Kudamon claimed) as being his goal to surpass, "Also, there's this kid I've met who I need to prove something to."

The kindly figure narrowed their stare with their big black eyes, "How so… are you doing all of this," she looked across to the trees Squad Seven had practised on, "For yourself, or for the villagers?"

That was pretty cryptic, "W-say wha-?"

The girl's glare became focused, beaming through Tai for a moment.

_-It's him! Chase him and that mutt down!_

_-Gomen, you've got to run- you've got to- ARRGGHH!_

_-So, boy. The new laws and discrimination against your type of people have forced you and your friend there into this… come with me, if you want to be of some use._

_What is she thinking about? _Tai pondered, slanting his head.

"You see, when there is a purpose in what you are doing, whether it is defending or taking, as long as it's for a purpose you truly believe in; that person has the greatest strength, the _moral strength_ to do what is necessary to protect what they desire."

Tai kept his gaze stern, _I understand what she's saying; only I could, since I need my friends and comrades to go on. That's what makes me strong, and that's what saw me through after what Mizaki told me back then… _he softened his glare and put on a cheesy smirk, "Yeah, I get you. I know what you're getting at big sis; thanks."

She stood up with her basket full of herbs, "Well, I've got to go now… you'll grow up to be very strong indeed… oh and, by the way," she spoke fluently as she walked past the trees toward the village, "I'm a boy."

Tai's jaw dropped, _But he's girlier than… than… Mimi, for crying out loud!_

Matt came by after the boy had left, and told the dumbfounded K'rin to get back to the house quickly before he lost out on breakfast, prompting Tai to hastily move with him toward the house.

The boy, on the other hand, walked painstakingly slow as he passed by a tree, the shadow oddly solid and a ghastly, wchoing voice sounding, "Gomen, why did you give advice to that boy… he's with Satsuma, and you know where this will be leading tomorrow when Akira recovers."

Gomen scowled without looking at Mamomon, "It's 'Master' Akira."

"No, he is not 'Master' to me, I'm only here because I'm partnered with you; we're equals, meaning we have equal opinions, and I don't fully trust the man."

Gomen ignored him and continued walking through the forest, the wolf like Digimon vanishing into the shadows above in the trees.

xxx

_Matt's Tamer Technique Knowledge,_

_Fire Form, Evergloam Blaze_

_This is my best power, and I use it when the situation demands a lot of power to defeat an enemy. The Tiger seal focuses internal energies, both the physical and spiritual aspects of chikara into the chest, after which, a change in the nature to fire allows it to be spit out as blue flames._

_Next time, I'll use the improvd version against Akira; I've learned to manage and increase the effect of this with less enegy wasted thanks to climbing the trees!_

_See you next time,_

_Yamato_

xxx

**A/N: **Well, that's that tedious little affair with the tree climbing across three Naruto episodes taken care of; now we can return to Akira on the bridge next time, and a not to far off power that will ravage the tide of battle; don't miss it when that happens!

So very close to doing my favourite part of Naruto and possibly Shuppuden; the Chunnin Exam arc, or the T'rin Exam arc, as it'll be known in here.


	7. Episode Seven

**A/N: **And we etch ever closer to the end of the Land of Squalls arc for my favourite Naruto arc, the Chunnin Exam arc!

More battles in this chapter, including my own for the Digimon!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Seven: Gomen's Mysterious Power! Asura Mirrors!**_

…

_History Lesson,_

_Lucifermon's Strike on the Hidden Terra Village_

_Eleven years have passed since the demon suddenly appeared out of nowhere, after supposedly disappearing centuries ago. The Fourth Senksha confronted it in life and death combat, eventually sealing the beast inside of a young newborn's naval, saving the village at the cost of his life._

_Besides the Fourth Senksha, over six hundred Tamers and Digimon perished in the attack, including Zaki Norino's parents, and the damage to the village extensive, almost allowing the Hidden Rock Village in the Land of Earth access at a vulnerable moment, necessitating the re-instatement of the Third Senksha to stave off attack, a post he has retained ever since that night._

…

Sora and Satsuma (still utilizing a crutch) went into the assigned forest clearing in search of Tai, who had vanished the night before again. Sora looked from side to side angrily at the worry Tai was giving his teammates, "Knowing Tai, he's could be anywhere, but I'm more worried about Matt; he didn't come back yesterday at all." She grumbled worriedly.

She gasped as a kunai shot down from above and stuck itself firmly into the ground before her, the two looking up to see Tai laying on the tree limb at least twenty nine feet in the air; higher than Sora got.

He gave them his cheesy smirk as he stood on the limb and paraded in victory atop it, "That's right, who's the man? That's right, I AM!" he chuckled while the two gaped in awe.

_TAI can get that high in the tree? _Sora thought disbelievingly.

_This cannot end well, _Satsuma thought from where he stood as Tai finally lost his balance and began to fall back on the tree limb.

"TAI!" Sora screamed, averting her eyes.

"Uh oh…" his teacher muttered.

But Tai didn't fall, but his feet tightly clung to the bottom of the tree limb high in the air, and he thundered with laughter, "Got you good, didn't I?"

"We were worried about you, Tai!" Sora rebuked angrily, _You are so dead later, you dork!_

Satsuma was unconvinced, "This cannot end well…" he said sullenly as Tai's feet became unlatched to the tree branch, his chikara focus disrupted by his laugh. Sora began a scream again while Satsuma went to move, but felt shooting pain in his leg, _I can't possibly…!_

Luckily for Tai, Matt phased in after leaping through the trees, clasping around his ankle while holding a cool, pocketed hand pose upside down on the tree limb Tai had just begun to fall from.

"You're such a loser, Tai," he remarked lowly while Sora squealed like a fangirl and Satsuma sighed in relief, a bead of sweat slipping down his face.

oOo

Kyon was looking at the ocean from his old wooden desk again, holding Gomamon's torn image close while glancing with a dismal darkness in his eyes, _Taichi Kamiya… why is it that he…?_

…

It was now late in the night, and the dinner table was surrounded by Ukitake's family, Satsuma and Sora, who glanced toward the front door every so often to see if the two would walk in at any given moment, as their bowls of vegetable soup was getting cold.

After finishing her meal, the door creaked open, two dismal figures covered in scrapes and dirt trudging in as Matt supported Tai by his arm, both smirking incredulously, "We both reached the top of our trees," Tai pointed out as he was planted in his seat before Matt did the same on the other end of the table, the blonde tucking into his lukewarm soup while Tai leant exasperated on his forearm, lowly gasping for air with his face against the table.

"Excellent," their O'rin teacher noted after slurping his soup, "then tomorrow you begin as Mr. Ukitake's bodyguards with me and Sora. I'm fully recovered, so we should be perfectly prepared now for whatever is thrown at us in the next three days; Kudamon should return with the others in a day or two if we don't summon them."

"Everything's going our way…" Tai allured to as he coughed to himself.

Kyon looked across the table at him with a disgusted look as he felt a welling at his eyes, tears falling lightly after as his face became puffy, red and wrinkled from his look as Tai looked across weakly at him.

_-Hey kid, why're you cryin'?_

_-W-WHAT ARE YOU?_

_-The names Gomamon, kiddo, wanna be friends? _

"What's wrong?" Tai asked.

"YOU, YOU'RE WHAT'S WRONG!" the little boy rallied as he slammed his hand down on the table, his face now soaked, "WHY ARE YOU TRYING SO HARD, ITS ALL FOR NOTHING; DOSU WILL HAVE YOU ALL KILLED ANYWAY, SO JUST GIVE UP!"

The K'rin squinted as he lay on his arms, "Hey, hey… that isn't how fate works-"

"BE QUIET, JUST SEEING YOU MAKES ME SICK!"

Tai twitched.

_-You plague!_

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE LEFT OUT OF EVERYTHING AND TRY TO GET PAST IT; IT'S HARD, SO FEEL HAPPY THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO FEEL LONELINESS LIKE I DID AFTER DOSU GOT HERE!"

"Quit your whining!" Tai roared, his eyes bloodshot with rage, "all I've heard from you is talk of quitting; let me tell you the truth, your talk of giving up isn't brave; you think your helping people, you're nothing but a coward!"

Kyon retracted his puffy face and sniffed while Sora barked at Tai, "That was too far!" he snorted and left the room, leaving the boy to grovel while Sora shovelled her voice in concern, "Tai…"

…

Kyon now sobbed and sniffed quietly on the wooden pier beside his home, his watery eyes glued on the sea while he was huddled into a ball on the wooden panels beneath him. He didn't flinch as the panels began to creak as someone approached from behind and plopped down next to him.

"Hey," Satsuma greeted, "I'm sorry about Taichi… he's always been harsh in his own way… but he does mean well, he doesn't hate you," he noticed what the boy was staring at in the distance; the ocean crossing sea, "your grandfather informed us on your deceased friend Gomamon; he certainly fit the profile on his kind, they are usually playful creatures, willing to risk anything to help its friends. He also told us that you never had a father, which links you with Taichi."

Kyon peeled his eyes from the distant bridge and looked blankly at the O'rin.

"Taichi has never had a father, or mother, or any other family member; not one blood relative or friend in our village, and everyone ignores him like a cancer because he conducts pranks to be noticed. Despite that, I haven't ever seen him shed a tear or moan about his situation. He's driven, determined to fulfil his dream. I think that maybe one day he was doing what you were at the table, but that was the day got tired of it and decided to do something about it. Even if what he said to you sounded harsh, he has probably told himself the same thousands of times."

"Really…?" the boy asked meekly, his voice gaining a strange sense of strength.

…

The next morning, the sun began to shine in brilliantly through the window, Tai rolling over in his futon while the others stood at the front door, about to leave him for the bridge after failing to shake him awake (Sora put in an iron punch to the back of the head to help).

Satsuma, now walking on his own two feet again, looked over pleadingly to Kyon's mother, "Taichi exhausted his chikara yesterday, so he'll be out for several hours. Please take care of him for us until we get back. I think he'll need the day off."

"Whatever, let's get going. The more work I get done today, the quicker you can return home and my people get fed." Ukitake began walking, the group pacing a little to catch him up and beginning a slow walk toward the bridge; just the old man, Satsuma, Sora and Matt.

He was wrong; exactly twenty minutes later, Tai roused from his sleep, almost launching out of his futon, throwing his clothes on and pacing down the creaky wooden steps to the first floor, running to the dining area, where Kyon's mother paced, placing glasses in the rickety shelves above her sink.

She looked over to him, "Good morning, Tai. Want to sit down? You've been given the day off."

Tai shook his head furiously, "No way, they abandoned me?" he bellowed as he raced out of the house, leaving the woman with a befuddled, bordering on puzzled look.

oOo

"I can't believe they would ditch me; what if Akira attacks again, they'll need me there!" he pouted as he leapt from tree limb to tree limb through the forest, using it to cut travelling time to the bridge in half.

It was as he passed by a small clearing that he noticed something strange in the corner of his eye, stopping on the next limb and leaping backwards in a reverse flip to the previous branch as he peered at the object of interest.

His eyes widened, "What in the- that's-!"

oOo

"What is the meaning of this?" Ukitake roared as he looked side to side; bodies of his workers strewn around, all alive and writhing on the ground pitifully with blood splattered around them. Squad Seven braced and encircled him in a triangle formation as water began hissing and rasping in the ocean below, a dense mist rising and engulfing the bridge around them, blocking off all sight of the village the bridge began at; only a small area was visible.

Satsuma clenched his jaw, _So, he was alive…!_

"MISS ME, SATSUMA?" Akira's voice echoed from the mist in an indiscriminate location.

Matt and Sora drew their kunai, but the former had a slight tremble that seemed to be noticed by Akira, wherever he was.

"AWW, THE LITTLE PUP'S SHAKING SO BADLY… HOW DOES HE EXPECT TO STOP ME FROM KILLING THE OLD MAN LIKE THAT?" in a heartbeat, Akira surrounded all three of them, three clones hunched before each Tamer with their cleaver readied, but stopped as Matt gave a snide snigger and looked at the clone with blazing eyes.

"I'm shaking in anticipation; you have a challenge this time." He stated as he tightened into a low stance with his kunai in a reverse grip.

Satsuma looked back with a smirk, "They're all yours, Yamato."

Matt lurched forward and his speed made him vanish to the common eye as all three swung their blades, only to be slashed in half simultaneously by the blonde, who stepped back into his place with a stomp while the clones burst into water, Sora blinking to comprehend the flickering body movement that had caused the clones destruction.

_My eyes, _Matt thought as he raised his head again, _they're sharper than before… I can see it…_

"OH, HE SAW THROUGH THE WATER CLONES, I DARE SAY HE'S IMPROVING, NOT THAT IT WOULD TAKE MUCH COMPARED TO LAST TIME," the voice echoed as steps, multiple sets, approached from the end of the bridge still being built, "Don't you think, Gomen?"

"Indeed," Gomen added as they halted (him, Akira and Mamomon), the boy in the Hunter's uniform and mask, "Based on what you told me, he has."

oOo

"Hey, Kyon, come and help me with the dishes!" his mother called from the dining room, while outside the front door, two sinister figures (the sword toting thugs with Dosu) tromped and unsheathed their blades as they kicked the door of its hinges, Kyon's mother freezing in fear as she saw them.

"So you're Ukitake's daughter… don't make this become ugly; you're coming with us regardless as a hostage." One of them hissed, the woman flinching after taking a pace back and feeling the table at the base of her back.

"Mom!" Kyon called, coming around the corner of the corridor into the room, freezing at the sight of the thugs.

"Stay still, brat!"

"Run away, please, Kyon!" his mom cried, trembling as one of the thugs stepped toward him, sword lifted. She had no choice but to bluff, "Touch him, and I bite my tongue! Let's see how your pathetic boss likes it if you report that your hostage died before being useful!"

The one approaching Kyon pulled his sword down to his side and rubbed his chin, "Fine. Tie her up and leave this cowardly kid here; he sickens me." He referred to Kyon's current stance, cross legged, shaking like a leaf and soaked with tears in terror.

Kyon stayed in place as the two thugs pulled his mother along through the archway of the removed door, "Mommy… I'm sorry… I can't feel my legs…! I don't wanna die!"

_-Why you cryin', kid?_

_-Because I can't swim! Your swimming, can you help me-!_

_-Kiddo!_

_-Are you alright?_

_-Ye-yeah… thank you mister- W-WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU?_

_-The name's Gomamon, kiddo, wanna be friends?_

_-You're a coward!_

Kyon stopped shaking on the spot, _That's right… when I was about to drown back then, Gomamon didn't hesitate to rescue me… my mom needs me now… I need to do this!_

He rushed to the doorway, throwing his hat aside.

_I will do this; I'll be brave like Gomamon!_

And he began a blind charge through the archway, charging toward the two dumbfounded thugs, one of whom slapped him back hard, then re-drew his sword despite the cries of their hostage.

"Leave my son alone; I'll bite my-!" she suddenly was covered by blackness as she was butted by the hilt of the other thug's blade, knocking her out to stop that threat.

oOo

Back at the bridge, a tense silence begrudged each party while Ukitake sweatdropped heavily from behind the formation. But it was undone by Satsuma, "You two, break formation. Sora, you cover the bridge builder after obeying the following order; all of us have to summon our partners. That Digimon with them… I sense something eerie from it…"

Jumping away from Ukitake, but staying close while Sora stood in front of him, all three performed the summoning seals and all barking 'summoning technique' as smoke rose from their slammed down palms. Once the billowing smoke merged with the mist around them, Gabumon, Biyomon and Kudamon appeared with intense look on their faces.

"So he is back," the ferret growled, Akira smirking beneath his facial mask, "Satsuma, the seals!"

Satsuma performed the seals; Tiger, Horse, Bird, Serpent and Ram, ending with the seal of the Dragon, in which he clasped his hands together toward his enemy, but extended his little fingers and thumbs, connecting the tips, "_Energy Mergence Technique!_"

With a golden flash confined by the mist, Kudamon had evolved into Reppamon, the ghostly dog Digimon again.

"Oh," Akira hummed with a chortle, "realizing that merging your consciousness again won't work in such a confined area like this bridge?" he tightened his stare, "Gomen, you head in first."

"Right, Master Akira," the boy muffled through the mask with his gentle voice, thrusting his wrist and pushing three senbon from his sleeve into his interlocked finger wedges, beginning to charge at blistering speed; he was like a blur travelling, and spun using all his momentum with the three senbon like a claw, going for a backhand slash, but being blocked by Matt's kunai, inches from his face, leading to the two competing in a contest of strength.

Akira chimed in with a hum, "Oh… so he can keep track of Gomen's flickering speed?"

"Sora, stick to protecting Ukitake as a last line of defence, Biyomon, Gabumon, Reppamon, I want you to leave this kid to Matt, and Akira to me. You three can manage that wolf Digimon, right?" Satsuma asked, receiving a simultaneous nod, "Then let's do this!"

"RIGHT!" all five yelled in compliance, Ukitake standing firm behind the female Tamer.

oOo

Back at the house, outside the thug slashed toward the closed eyed, charging Kyon while the other rasped in laughter, the boy's mother strewn out cold beneath him in rope bindings. The slash made a strange thudding sound as it went through; the boy had turned into a log, the thug gaping in confounded shock.

"A substitution technique used by Tamers!"

"No way!"

They both looked from side to side for the cause of this replacement. They looked back, noticing the unconscious woman had vanished as well.

"Hey, you idiots!" Tai called out from half way across the wooden bridge to the land of the island, "sorry I'm late, but you will get yours, just wait and see!"

Tai was carrying Kyon on his shoulder and had his motherlaced gently down, her bindings removed as he put the boy down as well as he asked, "H-how did you know they were going to be here, Tai?"

"In the forest, I found a beaten up old guy covered in blood. After taking him quick to the village, he told me he was beaten up by those two for info on where you lived. Getting that, I got here and saved you two."

"T-that's cool!" Kyon praised, a small blush on his face.

"Yeah, yeah," the thugs spat, "so one of the Tamers are back; so what? You're still gonna die!" they viciously hissed, charging with their swords drawn.

With a quick flicker of hand seals, smoke rose around the three, stopping the curious and grimacing duo, both of whom got knocked out by a fire pellet hitting them and bashing them hard onto the stiff wood behind them. The smoke cleared following the pellets being fired, revealing Agumon, who had been summoned.

"Heroes always arrive at the last minute, right Kyon?" Tai asked, his partner smiling with his protruding teeth on his dinosaur face, "what you did was pretty brave; sorry I called you a coward before." He said solemnly, Kyon bumping the fist Tai extended.

"Tai," the little dinosaur cut in, "all of the others were summoned before me; the others are in trouble since they did that!"

"I know, there's something going down at the bridge," Tai looked over to the bridge in the distance, "there's that cloud around it; it isn't natural, meaning Akira's back. Let's go, Agumon!" he chirped as the pair began running toward the bridge, Kyon waving them off and helping his mother.

oOo

Back on the mist shrouded bridge, Matt continued struggling in the same pose with Gomen before redirecting his forcefulness with his kunai upwards, throwing Gomen off balance, aiming for a sweep kick which was dodged by jumping in the air, landing and twirling again, going for a claw slash with the senbon, only to be parried again by the kunai, but his eyes shifted behind his mask toward a motion behind Matt; with his other hand, he had pulled an additional kunai out and now threw it point blank toward Gomen's head, missing by only centimetres as he hunched down on his left knee, dropped two senbon held in his middle and outer finger wedge, adjusting his grip to have a full on, kunai knife like grip. Matt could feel the power added on by this centrifugal point of impact when he parried and held him in a clash with his kunai again.

"What now, we going to keep dancing and getting in collisions?" the blonde allstar arrogantly chided with a smirk.

Behind the Hunter's mask, a kindly guffaw muffled its way through, "Three points that have tipped this in my favour; one, these collisions are exhausting you, two, we're surrounded by water and I am a water type, and three, you've allowed me to occupy you're hands. Surrender now and I'll let you walk away; we just want the bridgebuilder."

"No, it's my mission to protect him, and I have the power to do just that!" Matt rebuked.

"Then a dare say it was nice knowing you," he grumbled, lifting his free hand and assuming a half Ram seal and proceeding to perform several half seals with a single hand, "_Water Form, Liquid Acupuncture._"

Satsuma blanched, "One hand seals? That shouldn't be possible!"

The water that once formed the clones rose from the ground and into the air as if floating, before splitting into droplets, like rain that had frozen in time. Slowly, the droplets thinned and sharpened with a certain viscosity. Matt clenched as they approached (Gomen dodging by leaping away two second before impact).

_Remember the trees… intensify your muscles with chikara! _Matt thought with a half Ram seal, his eyes shooting open as he focused on his feet and jumped through the eye of the water needle storm; almost twenty feet in the air, _So this is how Tamers defy gravity. They use focused chikara to strengthen their bodies._

"Well, Gomen, if we continue at this rate," Akira said as Gomen skidded back beside his partner and master, "we'll be the victims, not them. Mamomon, you get the Digimon, I get Satsuma. Also… Gomen, use _that_."

"Right." Gomen responded instantly, with a hint of despondency in his voice as he assumed a hand seal that wasn't any of the common twelve; he clasped his hands together, extending his fingers like a Tiger seal but with his index fingers wrapped around his middle fingers and joined at the tips.

"What hand seal is that?" Sora queried, her kunai still ready in her slouching stance before Ukitake.

The water surged around Matt, and a cold chill froze in the air as something not fluid leaked out of the ground and solidified around Matt; a plethora of mirrors with frost encrusted at the edges, "_Ice Form, Asura Mirrors!_"

The ice mirrors floated off of the ground, forming a small dome around Matt with small gaps between them, Gomen putting his hands down and walking over to one of the mirrors and walking in, like he was liquidating and become a part of the mirror, eventually being consumed and showing on all of the mirrors surrounding Matt from all angles while the blonde tightened his grip on the hilt of his kunai.

"What is that? This isn't a normal water type ability!" Satsuma exclaimed as he began to run toward the mirrors, only to have Akira phase in before him, swinging his cleaver and forcing the O'rin to leap back in retreat.

"Give it up. You fight me; it's already been decided. Blame that boy for his fate, he has no chance against that technique of Gomen's." he arrogantly put as he retracted his blade and assumed a fighting stance.

Mamomon tightened his posture to as he sped around the mirror coliseum technique and ran toward his assigned targets; the Digimon. Before the three in seconds, claws elongated in a thrusting motion toward Gabumon, he was stopped by the sword like tail swipe of Reppamon, who missed out on cutting his opponent's arm of by a second. Backflipping agilely three times, he stopped, cupping his hands together behind him as he ground to a halt, leaping high into the air, the eye imprinted on his mask burning crimson as he thrust his cupped hands forward, firing a blue sphere down toward the three Digimon, all of who fired their attacks to neutralize the sphere before it landed, causing an explosion as Gabumon's 'Blue Blaster', Biyomon's 'Spiral Twister' and Reppamon's attack of slashing the air with his tail and repelling a powerful gust into the sphere caused it to detonate as Mamomon landed on the bridge again with his hind legs.

Reppamon, although masked, was unnerved, _That sphere… that was chikara. That's human life energy, the only way he could utilize it is by sharing energy with a contractual partner… Akira absorbed his partner, so he must be that false Hunter's! He's acting so nonchalant… he was seeing what our powers were; he's got an analytical mind!_

"I see…" the wolf Digimon growled, "so you are a Champion and two Rookie levels. Not much of a challenge, the O'rin Digimon being the exception; and not just any O'rin, but the exalted Digimon himself, Kudamon…" he purred excitedly, cupping his hands again, the glow from 'Aura Sphere' glowing behind him, thrusting it toward Reppamon, who slashed and dissipated it with his metallic blade of a tail as Mamomon vanished further down the bridge, out of sight to the humans as the Digimon followed into the mist, out of sight.

Back inside the mirrors, looking confounded as he looked individually at each of the reflections of Gomen, every one pulled a senbon into their finger wedges and readied, "Now, I'll show you the _true _definition of speed."

Matt felt a sting at his shoulder, looking to find a tear in his clan jacket, following the path of the senbon that had done it. But he felt another from behind him, and one from his right, some stabbing into his skin and protruding like a hedgehog's spikes while other slashed across the skin. As the senbon came from many directions per second, Matt let out a cry of anguish as a storm of senbon came at him, Sora gasping outside as the kunai Matt was holding flew out of the coliseum and in front of her, one of the senbon sending it out as Matt curled into a tight ball and hunched over defensively as the senbon began to slow.

Akira chortled in front of an anxious Satsuma as the cry rung out, "I told you; he challenged the wrong boy. Go help him if you must, but I'll kill those two in an instant!" he threatened.

"F-forgive me…" Sora said with a faltering tone, "I… I have to go."

Ukitake, who stood behind her, nodded attentively, "I understand- go."

Sora took heed of his permission and leaned over, grabbing Matt's kunai and beginning a charge toward the coliseum, Satsuma and Akira looking dumbfounded as the girl leapt into the air with a chikara boost and crossed her arm across her chest, aiming the blade toward Matt, "Catch!"

The kunai soared through the air, but a stymied sense of disbelief befell the girl as Gomen stuck his hand out of the back of the mirror and clutched it as it hurtled toward a small gap toward Matt.

"H-he caught it," Matt stammered, grunting at his many punctures and cuts, "but his image is still everywhere in this space…"

Gomen looked back in and flipped the kunai into a reverse grip, but turned back to have his mask cut by a blurred black object; a shuriken that knock the wind out of him as he fell out of the rear of the mirror, Matt barely able to look through the gap as smoke burst in the centre of the area of fighting, _That idiot… showing off like that just lost him the advantage of surprise!_

"W-who is it?" Sora spouted.

"Hey guys!" Tai coolly said as the smoke faded into the mist cloud, Agumon stood beside him, sweating and gasping for air.

_Sometimes that accelerated healing of his is a detriment! _Satsuma angrily thought as he turned to Tai, "What are you two doing? Tamers work in shadows, move silently and await the moment to strike; you fools have just opted for a quick death!"

"Well, excuse me sensei," Tai rebuked angrily also, "but I was in hiding, and I just saved Matt! I only made that smoke because Agumon here isn't a great runner! Blame the summoning technique!" Tai sparked something in his mind as he got a serious face, "By the way buddy, your fight will be with that wolf guy over there somewhere," he motioned further along the bridge with his head, the dinosaur heading off without a second word.

"Gomen, why did you fall out of the mirrors; why didn't you retract your head before this brat hit you with his shuriken?" Akira asked of the boy as he stood up, mask now separated by a horizontal cut below the eye slits.

"Master Akira… I want to deal with him, my own way."

"You want me to leave him to you…? What is this, are you getting even softer or something on the young ones?" the man sighed, but nodded in agreement.

"Forgive me, Master."

Matt felt a pang as he brought himself precariously to a single knee, _Soft…? That's true, my wounds may look bad, but no vital areas have been scratched or attacked, just my limbs, and lightly at that… is he mocking me?_

The masked boy turned to Tai, his kindly tone extended, "I am sorry for my deception last time; it seemed to upset you, I noticed."

"That's not important; what gets on my nerves is that you're allied with scum like Akira!"

Matt twitched, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a kunai, _He's dropped his guard! _He thought as he threw it, but horror etched itself onto his face as Gomen leant backwards, allowing it to pass without harm.

"I haven't forgotten about you, not even once. Very well, if you so desire it, I'll end this," he spoke through the mask clearly as he walked over to the back of one of the mirrors, Tai going to exclaim his complaints before he stopped, "do not worry, Taichi. I will fight you, after I have finished this one," and he stepped back into the mirror with a watery effect again, Tai's face grimacing at the sight.

Matt tightened his hunched over posture and drew out another kunai meekly as Gomen reappeared in the mirror like a spectre. The blonde felt a pang in his shoulder wound where a senbon protruded, arching his brows as he rubbed it, _He's in that mirror this time, so it should be safe to-_

"Over here," the mirror behind him echoed, the blonde turning around to find it empty, "here," his voice was still gentle, but mocking at the same time as his voice came from different mirrors, eventually infesting them all as one synchronised voice, "It's useless to try and keep track of me," they all said as they threw senbon gratingly but painfully through the surface of his skin.

"Tai, Matt! Think about it, attack from the inside and the outside!" Satsuma called out.

Sora sweatdropped, _To figure out this weird trap!_

Matt took heed and thought deeply while the senbon stopped, _That's right, Tai and I are in the perfect position; he vanished from inside while defending from Sora's kunai throw, meaning he can't defend both sides simultaneously… now if I attack from here and Tai attacks from-_

"Hey, you need my help?" a sultry, painfully recognizable voice put beside Matt, finding Tai hunched over. Matt began to tremble with fury.

"Moron, what the hell are you doing in here?" he bellowed shaking his fist dementedly, "You're a Tamer; think before you move!"

"What the hell's your problem; I came in here to help you!"

"Tai, if we're both trapped in here-," he shrugged and looked away disgustedly, "forget it. I'm better off without your mistakes!"

"Well I'm tired of your attitude, so you don't have to worry about my help!"

Satsuma drooped almost vehemently, _Tai, sneak up on the ENEMY, not your ALLIES… he's building a reputation as the most clueless Tamer in history._

Akira chortled deeply, his eyes still on his target, "I stand corrected from last time, Satsuma. That one isn't a brat like the other two; he's just a complete moron… we call his type 'cannon fodder' in the Hidden Tide." For once, the pair seemed to mutually agree as his opponent gave a derogatory nod of sorts.

Back in the coliseum of ice mirrors, Matt snapped and stood sternly, weaving several hand seals and finishing with Tiger.

"W-wait, what are you doing?" Tai spouted, raising his hands defensively.

"Just watch, loser," Mat spat as he cocked his head back with a deep breath, "_Fire Form, Evergloam Blaze!_" he echoed as he spat the fireball at the ice mirrors before him, steam indicating something was happening as Tai trudged back for safety.

But the ethereal blue flames had just broken up against the mirrors, and the flames quickly went out, much to Matt's dismay as the image of Gomen remained, the ice mirror unaffected by the fire.

"You will need much greater intensity flames to melt these mirrors," Gomen noted as he pulled three senbon into his finger wedges and duplicated his image on all of the mirrors, "now prepare yourselves!"

All of the needles came in an instant at the two boys, both falling to the ground in an instant after what seemed like an eternity of pain summarised in a single instant. Gasping for air as they writhed and eventually dragged themselves to a single knee each, they looked with scorn at the mirror Gomen now resided within.

"W-which mirror is he in?" Tai coughed, standing up tremulously, "Is it a bunch of clones in each mirror or something?"

"Look as hard as you like, you will never learn the secret of my '_Asura Mirrors_'."

"Oh yeah?" Tai barked, assuming his cross fingered hand seal, "_Shadow Body Splitting!_"

"No, Tai, you don't understand-!" Matt abruptly shouted as the smoke from the technique filled the space of mirrors, several Tai yelling in effort as they each jumped toward a mirror each.

In an instant, all of the clones were destroyed in a rally of smoke bursts, while the real Tai crashed hard back onto the ground beside Matt, whose face had hardened in understanding, _I just saw something… some black blur, moving against all of the clones in a fraction of a second!_

"These mirrors only reflect my image. And where my image is reflected, I can travel to it at the speed of light- no matter if you manage to even destroy one of these mirrors, as long as the ice still reflects my image, it's pointless. You're speed as Tamers is like a snail's to my eyes."

Outside, listening intently to the echoing voice, Satsuma was taken aback, "Of course; that explains it! It's a Bloodline Trait!"

"Correct," Akira haughtily put, still watching the O'rin's every move.

"What's that, sensei?" Sora asked behind him.

"It's a unique trait passed down in certain clans, like my Surugan; it's in the blood of descendants of clans. Even I can't mimic that; his chikara is unique, allowing him use of that technique!"

"Right on the nose," Akira chortled darkly, "Gomen is unique because his clan had the inherent ability to splice wind and water chikara natures. That's why he's of such use to me; you're brats are against an ice user!"

"Ice user… I had heard of Bloodline Traits like this, but I never thought it could be so powerful," he clasped at shades, ready to throw them off, _Those boys have no chance against a Tamer like that; I need to…_

"Don't even think about it. You go for Gomen, I kill the girl and the old man."

"S-so I couldn't break through…" Tai grunted as he pulled himself to his knees, blood seeping from his many cuts and punctures, "So what; I'll never give up, I have a dream beyond today; to become the greatest Senksha, and to gain the respect of the villagers!"

Gomen froze within his mirror, the positioning of his mask suggesting he was staring at the chocolate haired boy, "Dreams…"

_-What's wrong, boy? You and that mutt of yours orphans?_

_-…_

_-You know, at the rate you're going, you'll freeze to death like a common beggar._

_-…_

_-Do you want to come with me and be of some use, child? I will grant you a purpose._

"Those who embrace dreams and ambitions… must be willing to become devoid of emotion. Your dream is that of superiority and respect by the people that show you scorn and disrespect, mine is to serve Master Akira in any way I can, for as long as possible. If that means I must embrace the Tamer way, then so be it. You two will bear the full brunt of my dream."

...

Reppamon reeled, his mask cracked slightly and blotches of blood on his ghostly fur, the three Rookies laying strewn out on the bridge where they were fighting, having been overwhelmed, _What is this? He's actually become one with the mist; he can appear without warning! I can hardly keep up in my Champion form, but I can't go Ultimate or Mega without Satsuma charging his chikara and performing the energy transfer seals to fuse our energies for the evolution…_

He thoughts were cut short as the mist twirled slightly behind him, forming into Mamomon, his 'Aura Sphere' charged in a single palm that he thrust forward, Reppamon leaping aside as the sphere dissipated, Mamomon standing firm.

The Champion level O'rin Digimon had to ask, "What is this technique… I'm sure it's not a natural ability for a Digimon of the Tide…"

"It's a special ability I inherited through my contract with Gomen; it allows me to sublimate into the mist and reform at will."

"That's impossible! Contracts do no such thing!" Reppamon retorted.

Mamomon let out a ghastly laugh, "The exalted one doesn't know the full extent of a contract? Let me tell you, if a human seals himself to us Digimon, there are ways through practise and training to adopt abilities from the human's chikara, my ability from Gomen being the use of his water and wind based chikara to convert my own body to mist and reform at will. Too bad you won't live long enough to test that out with your partners in the Terra Village, disgraced lord Kudamon."

"Enough with the 'exalted' and 'lord' business… I left that organization years ago."

"You mean you ditch it. Every Digimon who isn't a backwater junior partner knows about how you left the Royal Knights; it was a big blow to the credibility of Digimon being equal to humans."

Reppamon growled with a wraith echo, "The Royal Knights ensure that humans are kept in fear while they reside in the Digital World by using brutality and flaunting their might. You have no reason to question why I left in search of a more peaceful solution."

"Becoming partner to Satsuma as a peace offering; the former Knight who has since been unable to return to his mighty form… you look like a joke now, and to think you were once revered among them as being the 'Lancer of Ice'." Mamomon snarled, charging toward Reppamon with his 'Aura Sphere' readied, "You were an idol to Digimon for years, but now you're just a lapdog!"

_Well, according to information I've gathered during this, he's at least a Champion, since he's as powerful as me, yet not getting ahead. Those three will be out of it for a while after that mist conversion technique… _Reppamon parried the sphere thrust at him with his blade tail, _could a contract really grant a Digimon powers like this?_

…

Satsuma clenched as he felt something, _This feeling… is Reppamon managing alright? He'll have to. It sounds cruel, but with the boys ensnared by the ice user, and Akira in front of me, ready to go for Ukitake the second I move to help…_

He went to his shades, throwing them far over the barricades of the bridge, disappearing into the mist.

"The Surugan?" Akira spouted, charging promptly at Satsuma while his arm was still outstretched, "I already know the tricks of it, you fool!"

He pulled a kunai curved like a small sitar blade out of his pouch, thrusting it at Satsuma's left eye, only to have him thrust his palm in front of the blade, stopping it as blood dripped to his feet.

"Why try and stop me," Satsuma scowled, his left eye closed, "unless you know the fear it brings?"

Akira retracted his unique kunai, "It won't work on me twice. Neutralizing it quickly is a natural instinct for a true Tamer."

"Well, you should feel proud about that, you're the only man still alive to claim you've seen it twice," he shot open his Surugan eye, "too bad there will be no third time."

"_Shadow Body Splitting!_" Tai barked within the coliseum of ice mirrors, all of his clones and him leaping at a different mirror as Gomen flashed out of his mirrors, destroying all of the clones and sending Tai careening back, but Matt looked up in understanding.

_Those water droplets Tai's clones shot into the air when they leaped; I just saw them get repulsed!_

"_Shadow Body Splitting!_" Tai tried again, all of his clones lunging toward a mirror, Matt biting his lip as he kicked some of the water on the ground into the air and focused. Again, Gomen destroyed them instantaneously to the unfocused eye, but Matt saw differently, he had seen a black blur darting between the clones and mirrors, repelling the water he had kicked up.

_My eyes have focused, _the blonde thought, _I can follow his trail of travel with them, but that doesn't mean I can match it… but, if I stop attacking where he is-!_

Tai caoughed beside him as Matt wove his seals for his fire ball again, "Tai, I want you to try attacking with clones again!"

Tai looked befuddled, but performed the clone seal as several shadow clones formed, leaping at the mirrors.

Matt intensified his eyes as Gomen made his move, the whirring sound he had heard so lightly before becoming greater as he followed the path that the clones were being reduced to smoke by the blur, Matt cried, "_Fire Form, Evergloam Blaze!_" and released a sindering pellet like Agumon's toward Gomen's next target of Tai's clones, catching the blur off guard and forcing it to realign to avoid the fire.

One second and four clones later, he had redone the hand seals and breathed another ball, this time grazing the flickering foe as he destroyed the last clone and returned to a mirror, "He got me on the seam of my pants?" he mumbled, looking at the cindering seam in question.

"Tai, can you do it again?" the blonde asked as the boy crashed beside him, getting to a knee.

"Of course I can; nothing can stop me."

Matt lowered his gaze and looked at the many punctures the boy had, _He doesn't want to show it, but he's exhausted. The Shadow Body Splitting is said to be a huge consumer of chikara, so I doubt he can do it much more. Still, this loser actually proved useful in here… thanks to him, I figured out his movement patterns._

…

Back outside, Akira had vanished in the mist once again, Satsuma focusing intently for any sign of sound while he thought; the mist had grown thick enough so that on around a five metre radius could be seen by him, _Where will it be… one of my eight points? No… where is he going to-!_

It rang loud in his mind.

"The bridgebuilder!"

Sora and Ukitake were baffled by the mist, looking from side to side as they heard steps emanating quickly toward them; it was Satsuma, sweat pouring down his face as he got closer to the pair.

"Satsuma-sensei!" Sora happily, with a great sense of relief, said.

"TOO LATE NOW!" Akira's voice bellowed behind them, cleaver drawn in a downward slice stance as Ukitake and Sora half turned to see him as the blade came down, a shadow flickering in front of them, between Akira and them.

All that sounded was Sora's scream and the dripping of blood like a metronome throughout the bridge, extending to the other two battles, Matt, Tai and Reppamon tensing as they heard it.

xxx

_Yamato's Tamer Technique Knowledge,_

_Energy Mergance Technique_

_This is how Tamers without a Digivice like the K'rin are sampling cause Digivolution, by using the seals Satsuma used to make Kudamon evolve. It includes the synchronizing of partner energy, and transferring a steady amount to the Digimon blood sealed by contract until they glow and change shape to a higher form._

_To Digivolve to Mega or Ultimate levels with partners, a vast amount of energy is required to be transferred, usually something achievable by the Shas, but for O'rin, it requires a meditative charging state that includes constant seals to be woven, making battle impossible._

_That is the reason why the Five Nations banded their research departments on a mutual project and created Digivices for all Tamers ranked K'rin as of this year to act as a mutual symbol of alliance and to improve their Tamer partnerships efficiency at Digivolution in battle._

_Yamato_

xxx

**A/N: **Well, back to action and not these tedious training chapters like last time. Stay interested, as next chapter plays host t my favourite part of the Land of Squalls arc.

See you there!

Also, please drop a review, much appreciated!


	8. Episode Eight

**A/N:** My favourite part of the Land of the Waves arc is finally reached; I am so looking forward to this particular chapter!

**Nightshadegirl – It's just wordplay for the ranks, as K'rin is a deviation of Genin and so forth, the Shas are names I brainstormed on and Tekina and the others are rough Japanese translations I added on with 'ina' to make it sound more interesting. **

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Eight: Abominable Power! The Broken Seal!**_

…

_Digimon Analyser_

_Mamomon_

_Attacks: Aura Sphere, Force Palm (special ability: Demonic Mist Assimilation)_

_Origin: The Land of Water_

_Partners: Gomen_

_Notes; Special ability makes him a more dangerous foe due to his use of his human partner's abilities and chikara nature. Seems to be a relentless aggression type, charging in for a close combat fight. Warriors pride and distinct hatred of Kudamon make him emotionally prone to outbursts of rage._

…

Sora's scream reverberated along the bridge, Matt, Tai and Reppamon ceasing movement for a second and following the voice in the mist, peeling back and bearing their teeth, their minds in synch as all three thought, _I've got to end this!_

Reppamon looked over to the strewn out, unconscious three Rookie levels, particularly at Agumon with the eye on his mask, _Even if he did Digivolve… it'd be dangerous. Greymon is a creature of destructive power, not to mention his size and girth could bring the bridge down. I have to make sure he doesn't change or else he'll destroy this bridge and we'll all be victims to the ocean below._

"Now is not the time to lose focus!" Mamomon barked as he leapt up from behind Reppamon as he manifested from the mist, his energy sphere cupped in both hands for maximum force. Catching the ghostly dog off guard, he managed to get a glancing blow to his midsection as the Champion side stepped, a small burst following contact into the ground, a small sphere dent in the bridge as Mamomon glanced over to Reppamon, pleased at another blow; he was getting closer and closer to that kill blow.

…

In the coliseum of ice mirrors, the pair of K'rin (with senbon protruding from their bodies) knelt down, gasping for air after Sora's piercing scream. They understood that the needed to escape as soon as they could.

"I'm coming, Sora!" Tai proclaimed as he focused chikara in his feet and began charging toward the gap that led to the girl. He was stopped by the image of Gomen flickering on the mirror before him, backflipping high into the air and landing at the other side of the mirror coliseum, the masked killer on the other side. Twisting on his heel, he went for the gap behind him, but was met by the image of Gomen, getting kicked back by the solidified leg that extended straight into his sternum from the mirror.

Matt kept his eyes trained on the image, as its movements became clearer and clearer.

_That's it… I'll finish them now! _Gomen thought in the mirror as he flickered off, appearing behind Matt and a downed Tai in a mirror, senbon ready. He promptly threw them, directed at Matt.

What surprised him was Matt's use of one of the senbon buried in his shoulder (which he pulled out) to deflect all of the senbon directed at the pair of them following this, hitting every one flawlessly as before.

"Get up, loser, we've gotta team up!" Matt beckoned, Tai attempting to get to a knee, but crumbling back onto the ground with a cough of blodd droplets.

The storm of senbon returned, split between the two, only to have Matt hastily dismiss all of the needles with the one he held intently while Tai writhed on the ground.

_Impossible, _Gomen thought as he flickered between the mirrors, _he's trailing my moves, and he's managing to defend his friend; he's a driven one! But he can't possibly fathom the speed of these needles!_

Matt, in the midst of dodging, landed after side stepping a needle, only to have his leg tense up on him, looking down with a grimace to find two senbon stuck in his thigh, affecting his movement as the needles came fully on at him, deflecting all but one, which grazed his shoulder.

_He's clearly running low on energy and chikara… yet he is still managing to defend himself and his friend! My movements are beyond humans, yet he's comprehending them; tracking them. Whatever that boy is doing, I must stop him now._

"Hey, Tai! You had better not pass out again, he's coming!" Matt rallied, Tai still in a heap on the ground, but began twitching at this.

"Y-you think I want to pass out?" he sarcastically put before slumping on the ground again.

Matt swivelled, looking down at Tai, who had stopped moving again.

"You cannot hope to revive him. He has reached his limits, both in strength and durability, and by the looks of it, you are approaching the same kind of situation." Gomen echoed from his mirror as Matt threw the senbon he held at it, "Magnificent, I must say. You're abilities continue to impress me, but your motor functions, reflexes and judgement are becoming threadbare, as proven by that senbon you failed to deflect."

_He's coming, _Matt hesitantly thought as he phased out to another mirror, Matt searching them all, _I've got to focus. My eyes must be primed to the point that I can see him, so I must focus…!_

Gomen threw a senbon, Matt's eyes dilating as he latched onto Tai and leapt out of their path, Gomen looking at the blonde in disbelief as he dropped Tai back onto the ground, _That isn't possible! He tracked me perfectly that time, even managing to get the boy out of the way… but how?_

Matt looked up after gasping gulps of air into his lungs, his eyes aflame with crimson, as both of his eyes had changed into a pair of Surugan. Although they were not perfect, three pronged eyes like Satsuma's own, as his right had two due to it being dominant while his left had one protruding symbol.

But it took Gomen aback in his mirror as he analysed the eyes, _Those are Surugan; true Surugan! So, he too has a Bloodline Limit… a power in his blood. But this power means he is a member of the Ishida clan!_

_It wasn't perfect, but I saw through his movements, _Matt thought inbetween dreary gulps of air, his empowered eyes piercing the mirror Gomen currently resided in.

…

On the outside, the cleaver sliced clean through Satsuma's vest, but only managed a shallow cut wound due to the man realigning its path in an instant. His blood dripped slowly onto the bridge below as he rallied for air, kicking low to force Akira into retreat as Sora calmed herself, Ukitake unfazed by the sudden appearance as he had entrusted his life to these Tamers and trusted them to protect it as they had before.

"Well, well… the great Satsuma taking a blow in place of his client," Akira chortled menacingly as he straightened up, barely in the five metre radius of vision as a blur, "how very droll… and those boys you let tackle Gomen; give up on them, if that will distract you. I found a true treasure in that gutter littered by orphans back home. I have trained him myself, Satsuma, and, to tell you the truth as a little bit of a brag, his ice techniques amplified by the techniques I have taught him have made him surpass me long ago. You thought you were protecting them from the big fish, but you have no idea…" he guffawed evilly as he vanished into the thickened mist shroud, Satsuma sweatdropping as he ignored the searing pain of the slash wound across his chest.

"Sensei!" Sora called, taking a pace toward him.

But he shot a hand out dismissively, "No, Sora; I told you, your our last line of defence, protect Ukitake!" he ordered as she stepped back to her position, "I've had worse wounds before, so don't worry; it is shallow, after all," he said passively as he pulled a kunai from his pouch.

Sora pulled her hands top her face girlishly, "He said Matt had no chance against that kid," she said, _Yeah right, he'll wish he was never born! _She thought, "I can't lose Matt, I can't," she said, _anyone who tries to take him will answer to me! _She thought, "and Tai either."

"Precisely," her sensei exclaimed, straightening up, "I have faith in them; they can handle it. Both of them are capable, both Taichi, the upmost and most callous young Tamer in Terra's recorded history, and Yamato, heir to the bloodline of the most feared of all clans in the Tamer world!"

"YOU CAN'T MEAN…" Akira's voice trembled oddly in the mist somewhere.

"Yes. His full name… is Yamato Ishida. The Surugan is his birth right, and the unique powers of the Ishida, course through his veins!" Satsuma proclaimed back, hearing a faint chide in the mist.

"SO THE RUMOURS I HEARD ABOUT THERE BEING A SURVIVOR FROM THE TRAGEDY OF THE ISHIDA CLAN WERE TRUE?" his voice wavered, almost flickered before regaining its strength, "SO THAT IS WHY HE CAN IMPROVE DRAMATICALLY… HIS HERITAGE. NO MATTER, GOMEN IMPROVES JUST AS QUICKLY. EVEN O'RIN CRUMBLE BENEATH HIM AND HIS SECRET TECHNIQUE!"

"Sora, stay put with Ukitake at all costs!" the O'rin decreed, serious and benign in his words as he raced of into the mist to battle Akira.

…

Tai slowly began to open his eyes and his senses to the searing pain racing through his body. His arm lay in front of his face on the ground as he roused from blacking out, letting him laugh anaesthetically as he figured he looked like a human pin cushion or porcupine (he did). Sitting up and regaining his vision from its blurred state, he spotted Matt stood before him, a pin cushion like himself, but Gomen lay motionless feet away from him.

"You did it, Matt! You beat him-…" his voice trailed off meekly as he saw the heavy blood drops falling to Matt's feet, the toes sticking out of his sandals pale, even for being in an ice coliseum. Looking up, he twitched as Matt tuned his head, blood trailing from his mouth as he gave his old, snide smirk (his Surugan deactivated as well).

"L-loser… took you long enough to wake up…" he said, his voice weak and his body trembling ever more noticeably.

Tai straggled up to a seated position, "Matt what happened to you? You're covered in-"

"You weren't moving… I had no time to think before I acted," he chuckled gaspingly, "and to think I degraded you when you got in here…"

"You… saved me?" Tai got out, "but… why? I never asked for-… you… you're a mess."

"You should see the look on your face… you look like such a dork…"

Tai snapped inside and stood up hastily, "I never asked you to save me, I never asked for this!"

Matt remained silent as he turned his head back toward Gomen, "You… I… hated you,"

"Then why did you do-?"

A tear formed at his left eye as his vision got hazy. Not knowing if he was passing out or dying tore him up inside, "There was no time… t-to see if you were alright… my body moved on its own."

_-Are you alright, little girl?_

_-Try not to be a burden, dunce._

_-Why am I with that blonde wannabe when I'm elite on my own, Zaki-sensei? Isn't that unfair to him to be put on the same squad as me?_

_-_ _I'm Tai Kamiya, a K'rin of the Hidden Terra Village. This is my newly introduced but great friend and partner Agumon; my hobbies are eating lots of udon and pulling pranks in all honesty, and I don't have any dislikes I'd really feel comfortable talking about, but I have a simple dream. I will become the greatest Senksha so that people won't look at me with scorn and look up to me!_

Matt smirked as his legs finally stopped giving signals to his brain, and he crumpled at the knees, falling backwards and into Tai's arms as he lay him on the ground, the blonde looking up with a glassy eyed look.

"He's… still out there…"

"Who is?"

"My little brother… he's still out there with him… I promised myself I wouldn't die… until I saved him and avenged our clan…" he shakily lifted his hand a little, "Tai… d-don't let… your dream die like mine…"

Tai flinched as the blonde's bloodied hand fell with dull finality to the ground, rage surging and bubbling inside him as he pulled the blonde into a tight hold, his blunt eyes locked onto his slack face as a tear brimmed at his eye…

Gomen stirred from where he had been laying, looking through his mask at the pair, at what he'd done, "He… he found an inner strength he didn't know he had. He rushed in to protect you, knowing it to be a trap, all to protect someone precious… he was a true Tamer, deserving of honour and respect," he altered his eyes behind the mask onto Tai's quivering form, "is this the first comrade to fall on the battlefield before you? This is all that awaits those who are not prepared for this situation; pain that will lead ultimately to your demise," he remarked as the mirror behind him assimilated him again.

"SHUT. UP." Tai hissed with a snarl, his trembling becoming quicker, and his inner anger seething at the sight of his comrade being chastised of his dream like that, "Matt had a dream… and _you_ took it away from him… this time; YOU DIE." He assured, the air around him filling with bloodlust as the trembling K'rin gently placed Matt's head down with respect.

The growl that had once emanated from the boy become more ferocious; more feral in nature as the ground around him cracked, and the air distorted Gomen's sight of the boy in the ice coliseum. The boy sounded more and more like a beast as Gomen focused, aghast as a black and red interwoven energy twirled around Tai and Matt's body like a rising pillar, hitting the mirror at the apex of the coliseum and coming back down along the mirrors, causing Gomen to flinch and raise his hands defensively to his face as the growl increased furthermore.

…

Reppamon panted furiously as the dominant Mamomon chortled. He stopped and flinched in horror as he shot a filthy look over to Agumon, who had stood up again without warning or sound. But he wasn't the same; his eyes, usually large and green, were pure white as he snorted, a shockwave following that ruffled the fur of Gabumon and Biyomon's feathers, the two of them still on the ground unconscious.

A cold bead of sweat fell down the sensory type Reppamon's face as he flinched at the shockwave of air from the rasping dinosaur, _This is… chikara mixed in with digital energy! And this energy… it can't be…_

"This is," Mamomon tentatively cut in, "it's the same as when I tap into Gomen's chikara… but that can't possibly be a human's energy on the other end of the contract…!"

Agumon roared, a red glow flaring around his body as his silhouette shape changed into something shaped like a human. As the flash faded, it revealed a strange creature that had evolved from Agumon. It was a human shaped Digimon with a biker style jacket and pants like a Beelzemon, but had several chains wrapped around its chest, its wrists and boots confined by pairs of shackles with broken chains attached to them while he wore a Greymon mask with a pentagram around the eye openings.

Reppamon froze at the sight, _Most of that body… that's from Lucifermon. But he's not even got one of the tails, so how can only a portion of its energy be transferred to Agumon and result in something this powerful; no such creature has ever existed in the Ancientgreymon family tree… this must mean the seal has been ruptured… Tai's in mortal danger!_

"Who the hell are you?" Mamomon begrudgingly asked as the humanoid creature looked over at him, scorn in his red eyes, slits focusing.

"The names Lucidgreymon," he said jovially with evil intent as he narrowed his eyes, "and you will die for what you have done to my friends."

Reppamon sweatdropped, _He's using that foul creature's power, and he's not overcome by rage like Tai must be as his seal leaks? What the hell is going on here?_

…

Tai's black and red swirling energy began to solidify above him into a wraith like shape; a crude depiction of a howling wolf face, a horrid energy spilling out of its mouth like cold breath. But just as quickly as it had appeared, the energy wolf dissipated with an insidious howl with the rest of its energy, Tai grunting angrily in place, hunched over, hands on knees.

Gomen was unnerved, _Chikara cannot be seen, yet it was clearly visible, and it took form! This boy… what is he…?_

He flinched as Tai's head shot up, crimson, slitted eyes piercing the mirror he was in, sveral veins popping alongside his eyes in wrath as he begun a charge, Gomen preparing his senbon.

…

Satsuma and Akira had both stopped at the mere vibration in the air, not to mention the burst of energy from the coliseum.

The Terra O'rin froze on the spot, sweat falling down his face, _Is Akira creating this? NO…! I'VE SENSED THIS ENERGY BEFORE… THERE IS NO WAY!_

_What is this foul essence in the air? _Akira pondered as he sheathed his cleaver, _Satsuma…? No possible way; this is far beyond an ordinary human like him… where is it coming from?_

_TAICHI…! _Satsuma thought, his facial muscles twitching, _now of all times, the seal has broken! I have to stop it before- _he focused more intently on the energy circulating in the air, _no… the seal has been loosened, and a glimmer of Lucifermon's energy has passed through, but the seal is still holding… that means we may have a chance to succeed in all our battles!_

He unlatched a pouch on the left breast side of his vest, pulling out a scroll and unfurling it with one hand as he wiped at his cleaver wound with his free thumb, sliding the blood across the length of the small scroll before rolling it back up rapidly and assuming a Tiger seal with his thumbs wrapped around the closed scroll, "Akira… you and I are busy people. We have no time to be pondering on this energy, so why not focus on me now, so I can wrap this up?"

"INTRESTING… I'D LIKE TO SEE WHY YOU'D USE SUCH BRAVE WORDS… SHOW ME, SATSUMA!"

…

Lucidgreymon dropped his knees and slouched, preparing for a charge, Mamomon preparing his 'Force Palm' technique by retracting a palm behind him, surprised when the humanoid Digimon flickered to his eye before vanishing, leaving a trail of dust rising from where he had stood. The wolf dropped his prepared palm and tentatively looked from side to side, only finding Reppamon, who stayed in place, fearful of getting involved with energy so powerful and foul in his current form.

Lucidgreymon phased back in above Mamomon, catching him off guard as the wolf shot his eyes up with a sneering smirk, cupping his hands behind him, charging his sphere to full power, easily twice the size of his hands as he leapt and thrust it into the chest of the awesome power, a small burst of his energy radiating off as Lucidgreymon scowled with hubris evident by his one sided smirk as he retracted his palm behind him in the air, the broken chain whipping the wolf and pushing him down slowly. His hand radiating energy that glowed light orange, he thrust it down, a blast heading straight down for Mamomon, the unnerved, mid-air wolf cupping his palms again and quickly assembling his full force 'Aura Sphere', thrusting it into the blast that confronted him.

To his dismay, it was ineffective, and he was quickly consumed by the blast, a cry of anguish reverberating as he broke up into his fractal code and trailed out of the blast, vanishing. This was the Digimon way of death, the code heading for a rejuvenation point known as a 'Primary Village'. The other way of permanent death was destroying the code as well, which hadn't happened as Lucidgreymon acknowledged his victory, clenching his claw into a fist and separating the energy before it hit the bridge, much to Reppamon's relief as he landed on the bridge safely.

"This… power… that attack, my 'Supernova Genesis'…" the humanoid mumbled, anxiety building up in Reppamon's stomach, "I… like this…"

…

Meanwhile, back in the ice coliseum, Tai's feral appearance of wrath unsettled Gomen in his mirror, as the ghastly energy radiated off of him, giving a rising sensation of affronting terror, _That look in his eye… this insatiable bloodlust I sense… this is no longer a child!_

Tai howled like a monster, lunging toward Gomen's mirror residence, senbon being thrown at his vital points but being deflected by another roar, the energy repulsing the senbon as Gomen vanished, Tai skidding to a halt and looking around like a voracious beast looking for its prey, Gomen appearing on the mirror above him, then appearing on all of the mirrors in an instant.

_I must strike now! _He thought as all of his image threw senbon at Tai, several penetrating his chest and shoulders as the boy dropped his posture, only to rapturously roar as his chikara pulsated and repelled all of the senbon stuck in him, his instantaneous healing kicking in while he went for the lone mirror in which the image didn't fade, punching it through with ease and shattering it. One of the shards that cracked in the air held Gomen, the boy leaping out as he has the positioning for a downward strike with a senbon tightly held, heading down and crashing into the ground as Tai spun away through the air, a maddened look on his face with veins popping beside his eyes as his energy surged.

_Impossible, _the masked boy thought as he raced for another mirror at light speed, being pulled back with Tai's hand grasping his right wrist, _those eyes…!_

Tai's red eyes and slit pupils concerned him, as he growled and tightened his muscles, a wave of energy surging out of his body and cracking all of the remaining ice mirrors while Gomen assumed a half Tiger seal, attempting to withstand the chikara, but failing as Tai tightened his grip of his right wrist, pulling back his right hand in a fist, which flared with red energy as he came back, hitting Gomen hard in the mask, sending him careening hard through his ice mirror, the rest cracking and breaking apart as he slid across the bridge into the mist, Tai in hot pursuit after the ice mirrors broke apart and the masked boy stood up woodenly as his mask cracked and fell apart from his face, falling dully to the ground as Tai leapt up, fist coiled.

_Master Akira… I am no match for this boy… Master… I have failed, _he thought as Tai's coiled fist came down.

_-_ _Are you okay, child?_

Tai froze in place, his fist still raised, inches from Gomen's feminine face, veins popped down his arm as he trembled, "Your… that kid I met this morning!" he looked up, his eyes restored to normal.

…

Lucidgreymon clutched at his head as he fawned over his raw power in his new form, letting out a wicked cry as his body glowed crimson again, the energy breaking off like a shell and vanishing in the air as Agumon flopped onto the ground, Reppamon devolving and quickly going to his side as Kudamon.

Agumon shakily, with glassy green eyes, looked up at the ferret O'rin, "Kudamon-sensei… what happened…? Why am I here?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Kudamon struck in a quick thought, _He was overcome by the chikara leaking form Tai… this must mean it's receded for now. He probably can't recall anything as Lucidgreymon because his natural Vaccine nature code was corrupted by the Virus type energy. I need to report this later, though. This was an unforeseen circumstance of Tai's partnership…_

…

Tai was still frozen, his fist raised, but slowly retracting from Gomen's face before he provoked him with a dubious look, his mouth leaking blood, "Why do you stop? Did you not swear to kill me for the sake of your comrade?"

Tai looked back at where the coliseum was, noticing Matt's body, his face grimacing as he turned back, "Bastard!" he barked as he punched the boy down, causing him to cough blood as Tai gulped for the mist ridden air.

"What was that?" Gomen said disapprovingly as he got to a knee, wiping the blood away and smearing his kimono's sleeve, "where has all that power you possessed gone; such meagre force can't hope to finish me."

Tai stared at him intently as he rose to his feet.

"To show mercy to an enemy; to grant him leniency in the midst of a battle is not compassion, it is a betrayal against their rights to live on when you could strike them down. It is a betrayal of your life's very purpose. Why would the defeated go on living, when their purpose in life is revoked, and they are left with no meaning or reason to exist? All of their hardships and struggle to gain their power that couldn't measure up to an enemy's rendered irrelevant in an instant, along with their lives."

Tai clenched his jaw, "Yeah, well speak for yourself."

"Are you really that dense, little one? I am speaking of myself. Your little display has proven to me that I have finally dulled as a weapon to Master Akira; I am no longer capable of serving him." He said solemnly with a smile.

"Why him, anyway? He's a mercenary scumbag who kills without remorse; he has no code of honour, so why follow him when he mistreats you and uses you as a disposable weapon?"

Gomen's feminine features tightened, "Honour is but a fleeting illusion for the weak to compare themselves to the strong and their ideals. There were once people I was precious to… me and my parents hailed from a small mountain village in the snowy area of the Land of Water. I was… happy, back then; my mother and father were good, honest people. But…"

Tai softened his tensed stance.

"Just as I grew old enough to notice the world around me, it happened."

Tai looked on as he wiped away his blood with his sleeve again, "W-what happened…?"

"My blood… caused an incident."

"What happened?"

"My father killed my mother before my seven year old eyes, and came at me with a knife. You see, the Land of Water is engulfed constantly by civil war, and amongst its people, those with Bloodline Traits like me are despised as abominations to be shunned."

Tai froze in place as a cold bead fell down his face, _Like me…_

"The civil wars twisted users of Bloodline Trait powers so that when there was a calm before the next war, we with special powers were viewed not as warriors or even weapons, but as harbingers of death. We were hunted, and people like me were forced into seclusion, hiding their true family tree. My mother was discovered, and my father begrudgingly killed her out of duty to his country who hunted us… but as that knife inched toward my neck, my powers went out of control, and before I knew it, I was an orphan, wandering the snowy country without purpose. I was superfluous, unwanted and segregated. Once I acknowledged that, I lay on the streets waiting to die."

Tai stayed in place, a piteous look on his face.

"That is when the 'scumbag' as you called him appeared and saved me. He was a man of ambition, and he desired power to make his dreams a reality. When he found me in the gutter, he offered me hope- reason to continue living- if I just offered him my services as his tool," a tear rolled down his cheek, both eyes brimming, "I was so… happy, to once again have reason to tread this world."

_-I have bad news, Gomen. I leave this village tonight, but I shall return one day as a conqueror that shall make this land my own. I warn you though, love and compassion will not be found if you accompany me._

_-I understand, Master Akira. I am your humble servant in whatever your mission is._

_-You truly are one of a kind, child…_

"I am now useless to him and his ambitions… I will not tolerate living on without reason again…" he mumbled as he sauntered over to Tai, who straighten up defensively as he stopped feet away from him, "Tai… please, end my miserable existence."

Satsuma, his scroll in the Tiger seal, orientated the Serpent, Dragon and Dog seal, placing a straight hand atop a clenched fist, around the holding of the scroll, slamming it into the ground with a beckoning, "_Earth Form, Tunnelling Fang Summoning!_" cracks formed around the point the scroll was slammed onto the bridge.

"WHAT IS THE POINT OF INITIATING A TECHNIQUE WHEN YOU CAN'T FIND ME? BUT I CAN FIND YOU WITH MY FLASH STEP; I CAN TRACE YOU BY SOUND ALONE!" Akira chortled, his eyes closed and his hand in a half Tiger seal, "BLINDLY BECOMING ENMESHED IN MY SPELL… YOU DISAPPOINT ME, SATSUMA-"

He was stopped as his eyes shot open, sneering through his facial mask as he looked at the ground beneath him, a tunnelling sound heading toward him and cracking rock rising and forcing the closure of Akira's eyes as stinging pain shot through his limbs, opening his eyes to find varieties of dogs chomping on his arms, shoulders and lower legs, one small pup holding his cleaver blade back in its jaws, regardless of the fact it was already sheathed on his holster. The strange thing was that the different breed of dogs wore jackets and had Terra headband wrapped around their necks like a loose collar.

"If my eyes and ears are rendered inferior in this mist, I can use my nose, or rather," Satsuma explained as his footsteps became louder until he was within sight of the infuriated O'rin with dogs holding him in place, "my summoned Tamed Hounds and their powerful snouts. Did you really think you caught me off guard and cut me those two times? I let you get smears of my blood on your kunai, sword and clothes. You stink to a trained dog that is affixed to the scent of my blood," he felt a twisted pleasure in the filthy glare Akira gave as his dog bites began to seep blood as the Hounds held onto him, "you figured I was enmeshed in your spell? Well you're incapable of movement because of my technique, and do you know how that works out for you? Your future is death."

Satsuma assumed the hand seal for Ox, placing his fingers horizontally through his vertical one, placing his middle two fingers down on his knuckles, "You crazed dog… you failed before, yet on your mission to capture the Hidden Tide, you have been working as a rogue for parasites like Dosu to get the funds needed for your conquest. But you shall die here, I won't allow you to kill Ukitake, he's the symbol of hope for this impoverished land. Now it is time to introduce you personally to my own technique!"

Changing from the Ox seal to Hare, pointing sideways with one hand and crossing past his stretched thumb with his little finger, then assuming the Monkey seal by placing his palm atop his other for a top and bottom before clasping his right wrist and trembling his right hand as a flickering light burst out into a constant wave of electricity sparking off of his hand like a generator, "_Bolt Blade!_"

Akira was aghast as he felt a cold bead of premonition fall down his face, "His chikara is actually so focused I can see it! That technique… what is that?"

"Yours is an obsession, you seek to conquer, destroying and stealing lives of innocents. You have betrayed the purpose of the Tamers, to defend." Satsuma angrily added as his hand sparked more, the dust around him moving away as if in fear of his power.

"Like I give a damn; I fight for my own ideals… and that shall remain the same!"

"Give it up," Satsuma sighed nonchalantly, "I told you, your future is death."

…

"Please kill me," Gomen begged, walking shakily toward an off balance Tai, "why do you hesitate?"

"I don't understand! Is being strong your reason for living? You could have been recognized… as something else…"

"Yesterday in the forest… I had a chance to kill you, but I let you go because you had that look on your face; you are like me. You should be able to understand…"

Tai froze.

"Forgive me for forcing you to stain your hands with my tainted blood…"

"Is this the only way… really?" he asked in desperation as he reached back into his pouch, slowly pulling out a kunai that trembled in his hand.

"Yes!"

Tai's eyes became red with rage as he stepped forward, knife ready to plunge into Gomen, who stood woodenly, a grateful smile from ear to ear, "Matt had a dream too… you know, if we met elsewhere, we could've been friends…" Tai mumbled in a soft voice as his knife was inches from Gomen's sternum before the feminine faced boy jolted, a shudder passing through his spine as he slapped Tai's hand out of the way, wrapping his fingers tightly around his wrist as he rose his other hand, creating a multitude of seals.

"What are you-?" Tai yelped in surprise.

"Forgive me, Tai! I still have one thing left to do!" he explained as his body converted to water and fell to the ground before Tai, who looked at it in suspense.

…

Satsuma lunged toward Akira, his chest open due to the dogs holding his limbs and blade, the sparking hand being thrust closer to his exposed chest like a sword.

Beside Akira, a puddle of water from one of the destroyed water clones leapt up and solidified as a rectangular shape; a mirror as the lightning blade made contact with flesh and tore through, blood spilling heavily on the ground beneath Satsuma's hand as he ceased the sparks, his face and clothes covered in blood as he found his hand struck through Gomen's heart clear to the front of Akira's chest, barely grazing him with the technique as the two O'rin stared in horror and shock at the boy between them with his chest penetrated, his blood splattered on the pair of them.

Sora and Ukitake, who had both slowly been moving through the mist without any sense of direction, stumbled upon this sight, Sora holding back a scream with her hands like a terrified child while the old man looked at the blood soaked visage with a disgusted grimace.

Tai also wandered toward the sound of an electrical discharge and the sound of meat pounding to stumble upon this as the mist seemed to thin.

Kudamon and the dreary, still dazed Digimon Rookies stumbled back, also walking upon the sight nearby Tai (the mist hadn't cleared when they passed Matt).

"M-master… Akira…" Gomen released with the air left in his right lung, clasping on with a deathgrip on Satsuma's arm that entered his chest, coughing an inordinate amount of blood while Akira was rendered silent behind his facial mask as the dogs restraining him vanished, Satsuma's scroll on the ground with several senbon implanted in it, dispelling the summoning.

Satsuma reacted by refocusing his eyes, his Surugan's protruding insignia around the pupil also dilating, _This boy… he's already gone, he's holding onto me with rigor mortis… _he snarled, "He defends you even in death…"

Akira began to chortle darkly as he reached over his shoulder, grasping the hilt of his cleaver blade, "I truly found the grandest of treasures in that godforsaken back alley! To grant me this opportunity at the end; you truly were magnificent!" he happily spouted as he pulled the blade off of its holster, swinging for the two before him.

But he missed as Satsuma grasped the bloodied kimono and leapt out of the way of the blade with Gomen's body in tow. Resting his head down, he stared into the glassy, formerly glimmering eyes of the boy, who had died with a complacent smile on his face, stained with his blood.

"So you could still move, even with Gomen's carcass in tow… impressive." Akira said callously, mercilessly without a tint of anguish in his tone as he straightened up.

_Unforgivable… _Tai trembled in anger.

"Tai, stay there," Satsuma sternly ordered as he closed the boy's eyes to the world, "this fight is mine to finish."

… _Tai…? _Sora thought, sighing and giggling in relief, "Tai!"

Tai became wooden as he looked across to Sora and Ukitake, stood parallel to him, _Sora… how's she going to handle it…_

"Where's Matt?" she obliviously asked, a girlish giggle escaping her smile as she awaited his answer. Not one word came as he looked away, Satsuma solemn in understanding as he stood and realization hitting Sora, sweat dripping down her face as water brimmed at her eyes, her form shaky as Ukitake patted her on the shoulder.

"I'll… go with you… that way, you aren't defying orders."

She gripped his hand intently.

"Thank you…" her voice quivered as the pair ran past Tai, Gabumon racing with them as he understood, the other Rookies looking at the three sadly as they came up to where the coliseum was, a shadowed body lying before them; Matt's bloodied body, littered by senbon.

Sora looked at the motionless boy, falling to her knees and shaking him by the shoulder while Ukitake and Gabumon looked away, the latter wiping his nose with his fur sleeve.

"This…" Sora's voice cracked in half, "isn't one of his Seiina techniques, is it?"

"Sora…" Gabumon mumbled in a meek voice.

"Did you know that humans in the school had to memorize all eighty eight sanctions of Tamer conduct? One day I got a pop quiz on it… the twenty third sanction, I got it right of course," a tear plipped on Matt's torn jacket, Sora's face puffy and scrunched as tears fell unopposed from her sealed eyes and her nose became red, "A Tamer must never… ever shed a tear, not for their fallen loved ones, or for their partner's death… M-Matt… don't leave me…" she squeaked as she pressed her head against his chest, sobbing.

Ukitake looked at the scene with a fostered look of sorrow, _Tamers… warriors without feeling. A girl as gentle as this has to endure this pain? It's inhumane._

Tai trembled and clutched at his chest as Sora's cries grew ever louder, a burning pain in the left side of his left chest cavity that he couldn't soothe as her cries became louder. They rung out louder than Biyomon's steps as the injured bird went to comfort the inconsolable girl, Kudamon and Agumon retaining their silence and allowing her sobs respectfully.

"Satsuma, no time to be daydreaming!" Akira bellowed as he phased in, cleaver ready for a coiled downward strike before the O'rin spun on his heel and kicked the rogue away from him and Gomen's body with great force, throwing a kunai after him and managing a direct hit in Akira's shoulder that made his left arm useless, obvious as it flopped as sweat peeled of off his face and down his facial mask.

Madly swinging as Satsuma dodged the blade in such a way that the now one good armed man was led away from Gomen's body, the rogue went for a heavy slice, coiling his right arm into the air with the blade and slamming it firmly down into the concrete ground of the bridge before Satsuma phased in behind him, a Vulcan neck pinch applied to his nape, "You have no idea what true strength is; that boy displayed it before you, and yet you remain blind… it's over."

Twirling a pair of kunai on two of his fingers and catching them in a reverse grip as he reeled back, he began the task of directing the pair of blades into a vital area before noticing Akira's last ditch effort; he swung back with his good arm, Satsuma realigning his aim and stabbing the rogue in the triceps with the two kunai, rendering both his arms useless as the blade slid across the bridge floor, the mist clearing as this happened.

"You can no longer maintain this mist technique… and you can't weave any signs with your arms ragged like that." He explained as Akira gave a chide and a low curse under his breath before a distant tapping attracted their attention to the unfinished end of the bridge beside them.

"Well, well," Dosu arrogantly guffawed in his suit as he had an army of common rabble behind him, "this is how you repay my employ…"

Akira looked with a demonic stare, covered in blood and his arms hanging loosely, "Dosu… I don't understand, why are you of all people here? What's with that army of trash behind you?"

"Well, there's been a change in plan, Akira," he mumbled tapping his cane on the bridge again gently to not aggrevate his arm (it was in a thick cast because of Gomen), "you see, I've decided to take you off the payroll and have you and all of those pesky Tamers eliminated."

xxx

_Yamato's Tamer Technique Knowledge,_

_Shadow Body Splitting_

_This is an advanced, hidden away technique in our village, and it includes the great disturbution of chikara to a base clone technique until they become physical matter and become a physical, solid clone._

_How a loser like Tai learned that the day after he flunked a basic clone technique exam, I'll never know…_

_Yamato_

xxx

**A/N: **Finally, I got to do the part about the demon energy flowing through Tai and (vicaiously) Agumon. Lucidgreymon was my attempt at a partner fuelled by sudden, dark energy that made him more powerful than his foe, Mamomon, while leaving a gap in how powerful he is due to the nonchalant personality he has.

Shame about what I have to do to the possibility of his return next chapter.

Speaking of the next chapter, it will be wrapping up the Land of Squalls arc and heading into the T'rin Examinations arc!

See you then!


	9. Episode Nine

**A/N: **And we're back with the end of the Land of Squalls arc, and begin the T'rin Exams in this chapter!

We also deal with the arrival of new rivals (some familiar faces amongst them) and the enforcing of a special precaution against Lucidgreymon's return!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Nine: Snow Borne Demon & New Chapter Begins!**_

…

"What did you just say, Dosu?" Akira angrily besmirched, his blood stained face made demonic by his bloodshot eyes of rage.

The short man tersely said, "I said, your being taken off of my payroll; all of that ryo just for you and what have you succeeded at doing? You're on deaths door! Look at you, 'Scourge of the Tide', your about as menacing as a wet kitten." He chortled, the army of rabble behind him guffawing with dark passion, Akira just staring with the same dirt ridden glare.

Tai gaped at the thugs, _There are so many of them!_

"Unfortunately, Satsuma," Akira noted to the O'rin hunched over behind him, "it seems our quarrel is non-existant anymore. As I am no longer in Dosu's employ, Ukitake is safe, meaning I have no reason to attack you any longer."

"It would seem so," Satsuma begrudgingly agreed, his Surugan focusing as Dosu walked over to Gomen's body, a couple of feet in front of the Tamers and the parallel thugs, Dosu slamming his cane down firmly inches from the boy's corpse, his eye full of hatred as he looked down at the ravaged body beneath him.

"That reminds me…" he grumbled, tapping his foot on the corpse's cheek and waving it back and forth, "you little punk; you crushed my arm, almost down to the bone!" he roared, holding the cane in his casted hand and kicking the boy's cheek for all the fat business man was worth, a loud snap indicating he broke his neck.

Tai was aghast, mortified and repulsively enraged all at once, rising through his throat as a gasp.

"Ha ha… I only wish he was alive to have felt it…"

"YOU TRASH!" Tai thundered, charging toward the suited man, but being pulled back by the collar, Satsuma still on a knee from exhaustion, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET ME AT HIM!"

"Don't be stupid, they outnumber you, use your head!" his teacher beckoned, the boy slowly stopping his attempt to run at Dosu as he was allowed out of Satsuma's grasp.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Tai asked Akira, "are you going to let that greaseball treat him like that?"

"Be quiet you fool," Akira venomously spited, not looking back from Dosu, "Gomen and Mamomon are dead, what does it matter?"

"What'd you say?" Tai boomed, "You and Gomen were together for years; doesn't that mean a single thing to you?"

"You don't understand the way of the Tamers. I merely used Gomen and his partner as tools, the way Dosu has used me. But now it is the end; his applicability is at an end also. The loss of his grand strength and skills coupled with the taint in his blood, yes, that means something to me… but the boy himself; nothing."

Tai arched his brows, "If you really mean that; you're a bigger parasite than I thought."

Satsuma grasped at his shoulder, "Okay, you made your point, but he's not our enemy right now-"

Tai wrested his arm free and pointed at the rogue, "SHUT UP; FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, HE'S ENEMY NUMBER ONE!"

Akira looked over his shoulder without moving his head.

"Why… you… he sacrificed everything for you; everything! Gomen lived for you! And you're stood there saying he doesn't matter to you at all?" Tai's voice stayed firm, but cracked in half, "is that how I'll get… if I become as strong as you are? He threw it all away for you, and for what? For you and your dream?" Tai's eye seeped heavily with salty tears, "and you throw him away like a broken tool… that is so wrong; SO WRONG!"

"You talk too much," Akira spat as he straightened up his bloodied figure, a few droplets falling in front of him, and not from his arms, "that tongue of yours cuts deep… deeper than the sharpest blade…"

Tai couldn't believe that Akira had tears falling down his cheeks and onto his facial mask, Satsuma looking on complacently.

"While he fought you, his heart broke into two. You see, the boy was always been too gentle and pacifistic; he felt pain, deep pain, and now, curse him, I feel it too!" and at that moment, he knew what he had to do, "and something else… I feel complacent that this is my end." Akira began to bite at his facial mask, tearing it with his fanged teeth and spitting it aside, the remaining scraps falling off onto the ground, Dosu looking sceptically at him, "What, surprised? The Scourge of the Tide isn't a monster, but an ordinary human? Get used to the sight; humans are the greatest monsters in this world, but no matter how hard we Tamers try to become monsters, we always fail… at least, I have failed."

Akira clenched his muscles in his legs and face.

"Boy," he beckoned Tai, who was covered with tears still, "give me a kunai. I have only a few minutes to redeem myself in some way."

Tai grunted through his tear soaked face, raching into the holster wrapped around his right leg, "Here," he mumbled as he threw it to Akira, the O'rin clasping tightly onto it with his sharpened teeth, beginning to charge toward Dosu, who flinched as the man with the flailing arms approached, kunai in his mouth.

Wading through the plethora of thugs comprising the bridge's uncompleted side, he gave a low howl, "Enough, do it! Take him down now!"

"He's a fool!" the thug in the front said sagely, a saw in his hands, "one against all of us, what's he thinking-?" he was stopped as Akira became a fast blur, a slash appearing with a delay after the wounded rogue passed him, continuing his carving of a path toward Dosu, who found himself trapped on the edge of the of the unfinished bridge, looking back spryly as a wave of blood splattered into the air, left and right, as the entire gang of thugs exerted effort, Akira finally appearing on the other side, a harpoon and two swords planted in his back, but failing to stop him as he ran up to Dosu, a demonic aura about him as he plunged the kunai into the right side of Dosu's chest.

Dosu gagged and coughed up blood as Akira was pierced by three more swords in his back, forcing him to double over, the billionaire beside him holding the kunai plunged into his chest with his hand, sweat dripping off of his face.

"You crazy fool, you've killed us both," Dosu meekly put, wheezing, "if you're so eager to join the kid, go alone. But you're not taking me, not this time."

Akira gave a disagreeing grunt as he slouched, "I won't be joining Gomen… were he has gone I cannot follow," he straightened up, walking over to Dosu against his cries with his arms flailing like a metronome beneath him, "we wouldn't be welcome where Gomen has gone; HELL'S WHERE WE'RE GOING, DOSU!"

Dosu gave a low, whimpering moan, terror in his eyes as Akira came face to face with him.

"Oh yes I should fit right in with the other demons, you however Dosu, well I fear you're in for a long and very painful eternity!" he shouted with a smile as he chomped down on the kunai and pulled it out of the suited man's chest, slashing him across the chest twice deeply before twirling on his heel, ducking and rising for a full force strike in Dosu's neck, sending him flying off of the bridge and into the ocean below, dead.

The thugs that were still alive sweatdropped and backed off with a small scream as Akira looked at them; his eyes filled with bloodlust and his body still mobile after all of the damage he had taken.

His jaws becoming slack, the kunai fell out of his mouth and onto the ground, becoming smeared by his blood drops as he staggered through the terrified group, splitting down the middle as he passed, but he collapsed to his knees and strained to lift his head up, "Gomen… I never thanked you for anything, Mamomon either… forgive me for that-," he mumbled as he fell face first into the concrete ground with a deft finality.

Tai looked away after he gaped in awe of Akira's final act, Satsuma reprimanding him, "Don't you dare look away. This is what happens when you live the path of a Tamer."

…

_Where am I…? Am I alive? How…?_

Sora's anguished sobs sounded out like a siren.

_Sora? Could it be-? It is!_

"Sora, it's hard to breathe with you on top of me…" Matt tersely said, his eyes cracking open, catching sight of the tear soaked, blubbering girl looking down at his face in awe, his stomach flooded by her tears, and Ukitake and Gabumon looking at him in surprise also.

Sora broke down at the sight after reality hit her, lunging into a tight hugging embrace with the boy who was still strewn out on the ground, "MATT! MATT!"

"Hey, hey, that hurts!" he cried as he pushed her off, slowly sitting up shakily, the senbon still in his body having an acupuncture effect.

"No, you shouldn't get up yet; you were nearly gone a second ago!" Sora worriedly said, putting her hands on his shoulders to keep him sat down as he reached at his shoulder.

"Where is Tai?"

"Tai's perfectly fine but… that kid in the mask… he's dead…" she rolled her eyes over to the boy's distant body.

Matt's eyes shot open, "Dead? Did Tai kill him after I blacked out?"

She thought hard for a second, "I don't know, I came in late because of the mist that was still around us… anyway, I knew you couldn't die, Matt, your just too cool a guy to die!" she chirped, re-entering fangirl mode as Biyomon tapped her on the shoulder.

Matt locked on to Gomen, _He never intended to take my life… from the very start, he could've killed me, but he didn't…_

Sora jumped to her feet and placed her hands beside her face, "TAI!" she rallied, the distant boy turning, "MATT'S OKAY, HE'S ALIVE!" she yelled with a tear brimming in her eyes from joy as Matt used Gabumon to lift himself up, giving a simple thumbs up to the chocolate haired Tamer.

Tai felt a surge of relief and joy as water jerked at the back of his eyes, turning back to Gomen, "That guy…"

_-_ _You see, the boy was always been too gentle and pacifistic._

_I see, he never intended to, from the very start…_

"Well, well will the miracles and revelations ever cease?" Kudamon purred as he spun around his favourite perch on Satsuma's neck, "amazing…"

They heard a rapping behind them, purging the thugs with filthy glances as the newly appointed leader walked up arrogantly, pipe in hand, "Don't go getting to comfortable; now that Dosu's dead, how are we gonna get paid for the journey here? Maybe that village has some gifts for us, don't you think boys?" an approving roar rang out behind him as he thrust his pipe forward like a sceptre, "trample these losers and get to the village!"

"Oh, boy…" Satsuma sighed (Kudamon having told him about Lucidgreymon silently as well), "this doesn't look good."

Tai perked up, "C'mon Satsuma-sensei, don't you have a powerful technique to defeat losers like these quickly?"

"That would be wonderful, but fighting an O'rin rank rogue of Akira's level, not to mention a Digital Human at that, takes its toll, I'm running low on chikara." He explained docilely as the thugs began a charge.

They halted as they looked beyond all of the Tamers and bodies to the other end of the bridge, a vast cell of villagers armed with weapons and frying pans and the like all standing firm, Tai gaping as he caught sight of the ringleader, Kyon.

"If you think your just gonna waltz into our little village and steal what little we have," Ukitake's friend, Aoi bellowed to the rabble, "then you better be ready for the fight of your lives!"

"Kyon!" Tai called out, the small boy burning a little on the adrenaline as he swiped the tip of his nose.

"Can't leave you alone to this, can we? Heroes stick together to get things done!"

Tai whipped back around and crossed his fingers into his signature hand seal, _Well, if villagers are willing to do my job, I'd best step it up, _he smirked, "_Shadow Body Splitting!_" he cast, several clones of himself appearing, startling the thugs and making some reel.

_I can't exactly manage that great a level of solid clone technique now but, _Satsuma assumed the seal also as Kudamon leapt aside from his perch, "_Shadow Body Splitting,_" even with his depleted chikara, he still duplicated several more solid clones than Tai, showing his superiority in energy reserves as the thugs reeled even more, requiring only one last push, "WHO WANTS TO FIGHT?" all of the Satsuma clones beckoned, the thugs dropping their weapons and fighting to get back in the boat that brought them, several flailing in the water as they were pushed aside.

"WE WON!" Kyon rallied, all of the villagers hurrahing in victory.

Tai looked ecstatically at the celebrating villagers who had just driven off the cancer that infested their land, then rotated to see Satsuma and Kudamon beside Akira's body, the swords and harpoon sticking out of his back on the ground.

"It sounds like its over… Satsuma," Akira said in a weak voice, bordering on fleeting.

The O'rins above him looked at his sagely, Satsuma reaching into his pouch and pulling out another pair of shades, "Yeah, it's over all right…"

"I have a final request…"

"What is it?"

"Take me to him… Mamomon always said I should be closer to him, so I need to look at his face before I go…"

Satsuma put on his shades, covering his Surugan, "… You got it…" he acknowledged, pulling out the multitudes of weapons stuck in Akira's stricken and immobile body, picking him up and beginning to walk back over to Gomen with his master in his arms, as a cold chill touched Tai's cheek as he and the others watched.

"Snow?" Tai said blinkingly, putting his hand out to capture some of the frosty crystals, "isn't it the middle of July?"

Everyone retained their silence as Satsuma gently placed Akira down, caressing Kudamon's head as he walked away, Akira looking at Gomen shamefully, biting his bottom lip, "You always stayed with me through thick and thin, and defended me when your partner rightfully demeaned me… for this alone, I should be at your side here at the end," his bloodied face cultivated a stained smile, "this is your doing, isn't it… you weep from the heavens," he managed to move his hand weakly up to the dead boy's cheek as tears feel across his nose and onto the ground, "I cannot go to such a place… but if I could, I would go there… and apologize to you for all of the sorrow you've endured for me… Gomen-…" he gasped as he released his final breath, the cold making it appear as if his soul left him through the misty release of his breath.

The snow fell unabashed, heavier than ever as Akira died, a single ice crystal falling from the cloudy heavens onto Gomen's eye, melting and falling down as a false tear for his master's fateful farewell.

Tai blubbered as he closed his eyes, sniffing as the salty water escaped his eyes, "He told me… he was born in a place where it snowed all the time…"

Satsuma closed his eyes behind his glasses, "Of course, it makes sense now. His spirit was so pure it affected the heavens themselves. You never know, Akira. You just might be able to see the boy again, in that place."

oOo

Two weeks later after recovering from the final battle of the mission to the Land of Squalls, the bridge having been finished without incident as Dosu was dead, Squad Seven stood before two wooden crosses made from sticks and a bandage wrapping, the two graves belonging to Akira and Gomen, marked individually with the cleaver blade and a dumpling offering symbolically punctured with three of Gomen's senbon, the four members in a prayer stance before standing up simultaneously.

Matt, Sora and Satsuma (all of the Digimon waiting by the bridge to leave), were making their way back into the forest from the small escarpment the graves were made on, overlooking the village, but Tai stood still before both of them, his here teammates turning back.

"Taichi?" his sensei called, curious toned.

"Satsuma-sensei, why do we do it," Tai asked, not looking back, "why do we train up to become disposable weapons, just to kill in order to have purpose? Why is that? We human Tamers die on the battlefield as dogs hated by someone, and our partners die, only to be reborn and do it all over again elsewhere."

Satsuma sighed deridingly at the question, "Well, that is one of the great questions we have to find on our own. Every day as Tamers, we are forced to search for an answer alone in order to continue down the path of life, it's a question that causes paradox; all answers will differ, and some will contrast, leading to battle."

Tai turned vindictively, "Is that the reason we go through all out training; to solve a riddle that will cause us to kill each other, one way or another?"

"No, Taichi, the answer we find is the one we use to find purpose to fulfil our duties. If you overthink your answer and come up with an answer based on death, you'll end up in a fix. That's the problem for us all, including Akira, and the kid; you'll learn it eventually on your own, in your own way."

"Well, I decided my own way a while back, I will find my own way as a Tamer; one that doesn't rely on the ideals of Tamers who've come before me, because I will surpass them all to achieve my goal!" Tai proclaimed proudly.

Satsuma may not have looked it, but he felt a pang of near-fatherly pride in that sentiment.

oOo

Now all gathered at the finished bridge gate on the side of the Land of Squalls, a fifteen mile walk back to the shore awaiting them all, Squad Seven, human and Digimon, were about to head off, a large amassed farewell party ready to see them off, Ukitake and his family at the forefront.

"I can't begin to tell you how indebted we are to you and your village. Our land is now free, and it has gotten its chance at prosperity, and it's all because of you," Ukitake sorrowfully stated, a tear brimming in his eye that he promptly wiped away, "I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss you all."

"Don't worry, coffin ditcher," he said nostalgically with the name, "we'll be back one day."

"You promise?" Kyon burst out, his face scrunched and seconds away from breaking down as Ukitake planted his hand on the boy's head and ruffled his hair, "Do you, big bro?"

Tai was taken aback by such an honorific, turning away as his chin tightened, "Of course, you idiot. I'll see you again one day, I always keep to my word."

Kyon's eyes leaked, and he began silently blubbering as Squad Seven waved their final farewells and began their traversing across the unused bridge, Tai's eyes also emptying as they went.

_Kids! _Sora rebuked in her mind.

Aoi quickly recalled his order of business, walking up to Ukitake as the crowd began to disperse, "Chojiro, there's still the matter of the name…"

Ukitake smiled, "Oh, I already thought about that. How's the 'GREAT TAICHI BRIDGE' sound?"

oOo

Three weeks after their return to the Hidden Terra Village following the C/A Rank mission in the Land of Squalls completion, Squad Seven had resumed their normal dreary duties in D Rank missions, their inadequacy in a high ranked mission being made painfully obvious for Tai (not strong enough), Matt (almost killed in action) and Sora (barely of any use). It was the night after they returned that Agumon was taken out in the night from his humble abode with Tai in his messy apartment by Kudamon for a memory recovery seal that failed, but was actually a guise for Satsuma and the ferret to intensify the seal on his blood contract, especially to prevent a powerful outbreak by Lucidgreymon. To further combat this threat, they neglected to add Tai's seal rupture in their report, to avoid his possible detainment, anger and resentment and subsequent release of Lucifermon's chikara.

Other than that, Agumon sworn to silence on the matter under the guise of embarrassment for the two senseis 'failure' at memory recovery, the Squad continued to function, completing an additional five D Ranks since their return.

This morning, Tai roused from his slumber, awaking to find Agumon on the floor, having fallen out of the bed sometime in the night, a pool of his saliva on the floor as he mumbled dreamily of his favourite foods before Tai pelted him awake with an iron fist to the back of the dinosaur's head.

After eating some toast, the pair left the apartment, locking the door behind them as they walked over to the terrace on the penultimate thirteenth floor in the industrial district where Tai had been cooped up most of his life. Agumon, being no good at jumping from high places due to his hind legs, told Tai to summon him at the meeting point as he wandered off down to the soda machine, Tai leaping from the thirteenth floor onto the three story building next to it with no ill effects, the chikara focused in his feet intensifying and vastly toughening his leg muscles for such jumps. Continuing to leap from building to building with his new focusing technique, naturally allowing him longer range jumps, he enjoyed the sensation, thrill and feel of the air whipping through his face as he leapt from one building to another, leaping high and jumping low until he reached the designated meeting spot in a wooden fence lined path way, Sora, Matt and their partners already there in waiting as he landed with a thud, Sora smacking him in the head for scaring her, Matt ignoring him and the two Digimon voicing early morning pleasantries.

He looked over to Matt, the pair staring daggers at each other before turning away in childish disgust, Gabumon rubbing his head, _I'll never get used to this…_

Sora rolled her eyes, _It's like being with a pair of children! They've been weird since the whole Land of Squalls fiasco. If sensei doesn't hurry up, we might have a brawl on our hands, _she gently thought before her more violent inner Sora voiced, _calm down you freaks or I'll kill the both of you!_

Performing the seals and planting his palm down, he summoned Agumon in the dusky cloud of smoke, a pair of soda cans in his claws, handing one to Tai.

After they finished them, they joined the others in waiting for Satsuma and Kudamon, who seemed to have a bad habit or being an hour or two late.

This time, it was three solid hours of waiting, the two appearing at the end of the pathway and walking up amidst the glares, "I'm sorry, this was the meeting spot?" he jovially input.

"Well, you chose it!" Tai bewildered.

"Just admit that you forgot about us and work on it from there!" Sora growled, Biyomon pulling her back by her hand as a deathly aura surrounded her.

"I'm ready for the next Tamer mission, sensei! C'mon, bring on something awesome!" Tai said hopefully, glaring up with fiery eyes at his two sensei.

Satsuma waved his hands calmingly, "Calm down now, Taichi, back away."

Tai pinged, turning vindictively to Matt, who opened his closed eyes and looked back conspicuously as Tai's fiery passion beamed though his glare, _Matt thinks he's so awesome, rescuing everyone on every mission we've gone on… well not today, blondie! Today is the day you get saved and embarrassed by me!_

Matt looked back blankly, while Sora burned with anger, _Why is he such a moron?_

oOo

Squad Seven returned three hours later, their D Rank task of walking some dogs finished without much incident, apart from Tai getting assisted by Agumon as he walked down the street with his team, bruised everywhere.

"Tai, how do you get injured walking a dog?" Sora inclined, "It's common knowledge that dogs are defensive, so why'd you try to take his bone?"

Tai trudged along with Agumon's assistance, "I thought he would like to play fetch, not chew-toy."

"Moron, you just keep on proving without a doubt that you're a loser," Matt harshly said as he and Gabumon walked past the K'rin, who squinted in anger and looked back at him with scorn (his hasty healing going unnoticed).

"Yamato!" Tai barked as he lunged for the blonde, being stopped by Sora's extended arm.

"If you keep this up, I'll finish you myself!" she declared with a mad look on her face.

Kudamon sighed with Satsuma around the latter's neck, "What do you think happened to their teamwork in the Land of Squalls?"

"Not a clue." The fellow O'rin dually noted as he heard a squawk overhead in a melodic tune, recognizing the eagle above as the signal bird Fu, who was sent out as a summonses for O'rin, "Well, guys. Both me and Kudamon have to go, so we'll see you in a while."

Satsuma assumed a half Tiger seal and burst into smoke, both he and the ferret O'rin gone to answer the call at Senksha Residence.

Tai took on Kudamon's observation, "Yeah, what happened to our teamwork? It's all messed up because of you, Matt! Stop thinking you're above everyone else!" he barked as the blonde and his wolf partner stopping in their tracks.

"I'm not better than everyone, but certainly you, Tai. Face it, I'm faster, stronger and more durable than you, and although you have managed to use your Digivice and achieve Champion level, my teamwork with Gabumon is still far superior to yours and Agumon's. So unless you have what it takes to prove me wrong," he looked over his shoulder with fierce eyes, "then shut up."

Sora and Biyomon gawked at the scene, the bird passively thinking, _How is it possible they can get along worse?_

And like that, he and Gabumon continued walking.

"W-wait Matt!" Sora ran past her partner and Tai, catching up to the blonde, who looked at her dismissively, "h-how about we work on our teamwork together?" she said girlishly, a pink strak across her face.

Matt scoffed, "I stand corrected. Tai isn't the worst; instead of flirting, why not work on you techniques and get stronger with Biyomon. Even Tai is ahead of you, and he's a class clown reject-loser!" he scorned, turning and disappearing around the corner with Gabumon, _Why must I deal with the idiot and the fawning girl? There are Tamers out there that have greater strength than mine; I need to practise to beat them!_

Sora was aghast, _He's right… what have I contributed on our missions so far? Nothing, zip!_

"It's alright Sora, you can work on your teamwork with me!" Tai offered, the girl trembling in resentment at the idiot being better than her, Biyomon and Agumon looking incredulously at the pair, shaking their heads lowly.

oOo

Squad Ten, comprised of Mimi, JP and Joe were sat together on a complimentary backless bench, having a break at a tea house in the village when their sensei, a muscular man in the traditional Terra Tamer vest and gear with spiked blue hair and a cigarette lit in his mouth called Harima Shinjin looked up at the eagle, Fu, as it called.

_It's around that time now, _He thought knowingly.

oOo

In a forest training area similar to the one in which Squad Seven had their exam, three stumps included as well, Squad Eight panted and gasped for air during their training, the girl who fawned over Tai nervously, Mikoto Norstien, Davis Motomiya, a brazen boy in a hot rod jacket with the fur hood up and red markings on his cheeks and Izzy Izumi, a genius calibre boy with red hair distinct from his large collared, baggy white jacket, his headband portrayed on his forehead.

There sensei, Tenma Suou, observed their training from a nearby tree she leant on, a slender woman with black, shoulder length hair, a purple and white uniform with a vest exposing some of her sizable cleavage, and a fair amount of makeup applied to her face giving her fully rouged lips and mascaraed eyes.

She looked up at the whimsical sound of Fu's call as well, _Already…?_

oOo

Tai and Agumon ran frantically for their lives, Sora having snapped at his offer to work on their teamwork (oblivious to her actual meaning), darting through the streets and back alleyways and paths at high speed, Biyomon following them by gliding through the air.

Tai shuddered to a halt, however, as he turned another corner in his desperate run for life. Agumon, too stopped, and Sora grabbed Tai by the collar angrily, her face flushed, following his gaxe and calming immediately, Biyomon swooping down and staring down the pathway lined with wooden planks also.

A couple of metres away, beneath the shadow of a tree stood a large boy in a baggy black body suit that ended at his shins and entered his black sandals, his hair spiked a dark caramel brown and purple marking lining his features in straight lines around his features. One his back, a strange wrapping of bandages were tied tightly around a sarcophagi shaped object, brown hair sticking out the top of the object alone. In his hand, he held a K'rin who was desperately swinging his legs while being held by the collar, his headband dangling in the assaulter's hand that clasped around his neck.

Beside him was a beautiful girl with a scowling face, looking up at the victim. She had platinum blonde hair, tied back in two spiky ponytails, a loose, low cut top just below her vest that ended at her neck beneath her headband. She also wore stockings and a button skirt in addition to the same black Tamer sandals.

They certainly weren't Terra K'rin, as their headbands, the boy's on his forehead and the girl's around her neck, had a different design and black cloth rather than blue. The design had three squiggly lines bunched on top of each other, signifying wind blowing.

"Does it hurt, punk?" the boy asked in a husky, hubris voice, a smile on his face and one eye closed, "it should, you hurt me when you tried to attack us."

"I'm sorry!" the K'rin in his hand cried aloud, gasping for air, "I thought you were one of my teammates doing extra search practise, I was supposed to gently attack to tell them I found them!"

"Nearly hitting me in the head with six shuriken and a kunai ain't a good way to 'gently' anything."

Tai stepped up, "Put. Him. Down." He ordered, the two strangers and the kid turning their heads to him. Tai recognized the guy; he was one of the graduates who got rejected… Tanaka, he believed he was called, ignored him a lot and picked on the smaller kids, _Even someone like him… deserves at least one helping hand._

"The hell are you kid, wanna start something; he attacked me!" the boy barked haughtily, the girl beside him scoffing.

"You'd best put him down, Daiyo. I don't want to aggravate _him_ after that long travel." She said, her voice stern yet shaky.

Daiyo just snorted and threw Tanaka aside, the boy grabbing his headband and running off without a word of thanks to Tai, "Tsuki, we've got a little while before the problem gets here, why not have some fun; all of these Terra K'rin are wusses and need to be taught that they need toughening anyway," he gestured over to Tai with one eye open, "look at that big haired moron, you think that K'rin needs toughening as well?

Sora was elsewhere in her thoughts, _Those headbands mean they're foreigners!_

Tai popped a vein in his temple, cracking his knuckles, "I'll make you regret saying that, black body suit freak," he growled as he began to charge at the still sneeringly smirking boy with one eye closed, not fearing any besmirch or bruise as he twitched his middle finger presentably at his side, Tai feeling a powerful tug at his leg that pulled him over, sending him flat onto his back, "WHAT THE-?"

Daiyo leered at his handiwork, the purple facepaint making his vicious expression more obvious, one eye still closed coolly, _Terra K'rin… how pitiful…_

oOo

The Lord Senksha looked in reverence at all of the O'rin gathered before him, both Digimon and Human, "It should be obvious what the agenda is by the mass gathering of all Tamers your level."

"It's that time again, is it?" Satsuma mumbled, Kudamon habitually wrapped around his neck and humming in agreement at the sentiment.

One of the O'rin, a Weregarurumon with the vest in addition to his natural Digimon effects, answered, "I saw several foreign sensei and their students around the village today, it seems time is picking up the pace almost."

"When is it, Lord Senksha?" Kudamon inquired.

"A week," the Senksha blew smoke from his pipe, "a week remains, so I need your expert opinions on who you believe is ready for them. Seven days from now, I will formally announce the commencement of the T'rin Selection Exams. So I need your opinions. Step forward if you believe your students are prepared."

oOo

Tai roared as he began a small charge toward Daiyo (still smirking), leaping into the air, fist coiled, as the foreigner pulled out a kunai and preparing to thrust it into Tai as he came down before he got hit in the hand by a fast travelling pebble, forcing him to drop the kunai, using his other hand to stop Tai's fist and thrusting him back to his group.

Looking up to the tree limb, Daiyo snarled as he caught sight of Matt sitting coolly, tossing a pebble up and down in his hand, "What are you doing in our village?"

Tsuki burned at her face, a faint red blush appearing, _Local hottie!_

Daiyo thought differently, _Another one of these wusses…_

"Matt!" Sora squealed, burning at her cheeks more intensely than Tsuki did, Tai popping a vein at the side of his head as he gave a sideways, slanted glance up to the blonde of Squad Seven.

Tai spat venom in his voice, "Where's Gabumon?"

"He went on ahead; now, I'll ask you again. What are you bastards doing in our village?" Matt redirected to the two foreigners.

oOo

"First off," the Senksha began behind his desk, "could the four O'rin watching over the new K'rin please step forward?" Satsuma (Kudamon in tow), Harima and Tenma stepped forth, "Now, are there any of the new K'rin ready for the Exams, and think carefully on your answer; you know the risk level involved."

Zaki, stood toward the back of the crowd as a T'rin observer, thought, _There is no need to ask, just because they've all reached the quota of eight missions, that doesn't mean they're anywhere near prepared…_

Satsuma raised his fingers into the half Tiger gesture, "I, Satsuma, speaking on behalf of Kudamon in addition, swear on my clan, the Rentarou, that all three of my K'rin students are ready for the T'rin Exams. Taichi Kamiya, Yamato Ishida and Sora Takenouchi of Squad Seven hereby have permission to take the Exam."

Harima Shinjin assumed the half Tiger seal gesture, "I, Harima, swear on my clan, the Shinjin, that all three of my K'rin students are ready for the T'rin Exams. Mimi Tachikawa, JP Sumou and Joe Kido hereby have permission to take the Exam."

Tenma Suou assumed the same gesture, "I, Tenma, swear on my clan, the Suou, that all three of my K'rin students are ready for the T'rin Exams. Davis Motomiya, Izzy Izumi and Mikoto Norstein hereby have permission to take the Exam."

The Third hummed delightedly, "All of them? How astoundingly rare…"

Zaki stepped forward, "Lord Senksha, a moment please!" he spouted as the old man nodded from behind the desk, "I have personally taught all of those K'rin myself, and I have a good knowledge on every single one's abilities, but they aren't ready for the struggle of the T'rin Examinations yet!"

Satsuma sighed and turned his head back, "I myself became a T'rin when I was six years younger than Taichi, Zaki-sensei."

"Tai isn't like you, you were a prodigy! Are you trying to destroy these kids?"

Kudamon, of all people, spoke up first from his favourite perch, "All of them complain about missions assigned to them, and their teamwork, particularly in mine and Satsuma's squad, has left much to be desired. They need something to wake them up from this daydream, and the T'rin Exam is the perfect way to go about it."

"What?"

Tenma sighed and cut in, "Kudamon, can you quit blathering on and end this already?"

The ferret obliged, "Quit doting on them, Zaki-sensei. They are no longer your students, they are _ours_. They are soldiers in training at our command, and we intend to form them into fine young Tamers with their partners. Stay out of this; it is no longer your business."

Harima raised a brow, _He has an annoyingly delicate way of putting it, far different from the other Knights…_

oOo

"Another guy who pisses me off," Daiyo chided, clutching his numbing hand.

"Get him, Matt! You're so cool!" Sora squealed, Biyomon nodding in agreement and Agumon also agreeing in thought as he patted Tai on the back, his back drooped at Matt's arrival into his fight.

"Hey, brat! Get down here if you have a set like your stupid friend!" Daiyo beckoned as he pulled the bandages off of his shoulders and slammed the wrapped object down on to the ground, "Now you've pissed me off…"

Tsuki seemed unnerved and tensed at the wrapped object, "You're not using the Black Widow, are you?"

"DAIYO, STOP IT." A demented voice sternly said from behind Matt, who looked across to find a K'rin hanging from the tree limb across from him using the chikara focus technique. He was a short boy, possibly a little shorter than Tai, with raven hair tied at one of his bangs in a clip, blue fang markings on his cheeks, golden coloured, glassy eyes surrounded by black markings. His clothes were tribal style, baggy with a three feather necklace dangling down. On his back was a gourd attached by a bandage wrapping tied around the boy's chest with his back wind headband tied around and a big boomerang at the small of his back in a holster beneath the gourd, "You're a disgrace to our village."

All of the Digimon and humans on the ground looked up in awe, sweatdropping at the heavy sense of presence the boy had, Daiyo sweating heavily as he looked into the gleamless golden eyes of the upside down boy, "K-Keenan… it isn't what it looks like, they were attacking us, you see-"

But Keenan wasn't having any of it, coldly saying, "Silence, you allowed yourself to be pulled into a petty squabble, I was here watching."

Matt gaped at the threatening presence across from him, _He was there all the time without me noticing? That's some high level sneaking skills he has…_

Daiyo kept it up, "No, they did challenge us-!"

"Shut up," Keenan dictated with a lacklustre tone, "or I'll kill you where you stand, Daiyo."

The black suited boy immediately froze in place and sweated heavily; those eyes were full of contempt and evil.

Tsuki mustered up her courage, "He's sorry, alright Keenan… please?"

_So he's the leader of these foreign K'rin, _Matt thought, his eyes fixed on Keenan, who slowly looked across to him on the other tree limb.

"I'm sorry for this idiot," Keenan said in his cold tone, _This guy, he's the one who hit Daiyo with a pebble and made it look easy… he's someone to keep an eye on._

And like that, Keenan's body broke down into sand, reforming next to Tsuki and Daiyo in an instant, leaving Matt and the others aghast, _The hell was that technique?_

"Let's go." He ordered, the three foreigners beginning to walk away from Squad Seven (minus Gabumon) before Matt leapt down, standing firm.

"Wait, who are you people?" Sora called out, pushing past Tai to stand in front of the three, "those headbands mean you're from the Village Hidden in the Sandstorm, in the Land of Air. You can't enter our village without permission, so state your purpose."

Tsuki snorted and turned back, rummaging in her pouch and pulling out a small travel document, opening it to the page with the Terra symbol of acceptance, "Talk about clueless, I mean, haven't you been told yet?" the scattered, blank expressions answered her question, "You're right, we're K'rin from the Hidden Sandstorm, and we've come here to take the T'rin Exam."

Tai raised an eyebrow, "T'rin Exams? What are those?"

"Sheesh, talk about clueless… the T'rin Exams are the place where elite K'rin from the Five Great Nations gather to a single location yearly in a different village, this year here, to compete with each other in several exams to decide new candidates for T'rin promotion. It is taken as a show of union between the Five Nations as a sign of good faith ever since the last war ended…"

Tai wasn't paying attention, talking to Agumon, "Hey, buddy, you think I should take that Exam?"

Agumon concurred, "You'd do great!"

"Listen to the end if you ask a question, its common freaking courtesy!" Tsuki barked, blushing angrily and waving her fist at Tai.

"Hey, who are you?" Matt beckoned.

"O-oh, you mean me?" Tsuki said, entering fangirl mode like Sora, getting a death glare from the Terra K'rin who usually assumed the girlish mode.

"No, I mean the kid with the gourd on his back," Matt pointed at Keenan, who looked back out of the corner of his eye.

"My name is Keenan… of the Sands," he turned back to look Matt eye to eye, "what's your name?"

"Matt Ishida." He replied vindictively, a smirk on his face as a few silent seconds passed, the two K'rin giving deathly, hallowing glares.

"What about me?" Tai rallied, Keenan turning away.

"Not interested in slightest. Let's go."

While Tai grovelled in defeat, Biyomon and Agumon giving him kind words of support, Sora watched as the three Sandstorm K'rin vanished around the corner of the pathway, Matt smiling with a cold bead of sweat running down his face, _Keenan of the Sands…_

In a far off building, looking down at the three Terra Krin were three shadowed foreign K'rin, engulfed by the darkness of the shadowed room.

"What do you think?" one of them, a haughty male, inclined.

The leader replied in a hubris tone, "Nothing special… but the blonde kid and the spook from the Sandstorm, keep an eye on them."

xxx

_Yamato's Tamer Technique Knowledge,_

_Water Body Splitting_

_A water clone is formed by the dispensing of chikara into a certain volume of water, allowing the caster to reform the shape into a clone by their will._

_A downside in this technique compared to other clone techniques is that there is a certain radius the clone can operate in, depending on the level of the user, before the water breaks up and the spell is dropped._

xxx

**A/N: **Finally, my favourite arc is reached, and so many familiar faces from the Digimon franchise shall be returning as K'rin taking part in the Exam. The Digimon won't be introduced at first, but the reasoning shall be made clearer as we move along this arc.

This arc also means I need to concept an Orochimaru character, as Jiraiya's is already decided. Open to any suggestions for a Digimon character to replace Tsunade (human preferably).

Also, Asuma and Kurenai's replacements are a hats off to School Rumble and my favorite couple from it, Kenji Harima and Tenma Tsukamoto.

Other than that, please drop a review please!


	10. Episode Ten

**A/N: **We have reached a milestone in the story; chapter ten, and my interest is not waning, but increasing in this story!

Now, we begin the hum drum activity of slowly introducing the K'rin to one another, as well as the start of that famous written examination!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Ten: Start Your Engines! New Rivals, Assemble!**_

…

_K'rin Reference Book,_

_Keenan of the Sands_

_Age: 10_

_Family Unit: Unknown_

_O'rin Sensei: Torune_

_Missions Completed: 8 D Rank, 3 C Rank, 1 B Rank, 0 A Rank (S Rank N/A)_

_Conclusions: A mysterious young boy of unknown ability, but is recorded as having completed a B Rank mission as a K'rin without receiving a scratch. Youngest of this year's crop of K'rin from the Sandstorm Village._

…

"Hey, have you heard the news?" a boy in a sleeveless shirt and sleeveless orange and black jacket said, his chocolate hair falling down to his shoulders with a ponytail and baggy cargos running into two leg weights and his blue sandals. Around his wrists were bandages tied from his forearm down to his fingers, his headband wrapped around his waist like a belt, "There are going to be first year K'rin at the T'rin Exams this year; that has not happened in almost five years."

"No way, Marcus," a girl twirling a kunai in her finger replied. She had pink hair tied up into two buns, her headband on her forehead and a pink Chinese style, button up blouse and baggy shorts that ran into her sandals, "that'll be some O'rin trying to boost their egos against the others."

"No, the story is that three of them are students of Satsuma and Kudamon."

"Really?" a boy input, sat against the stump in the assigned training area, a target above his head filled with kunai and shuriken. He was bleach blonde, with wavy hair held up by his headband. He had piercing blue eyes and a handsome face, a baggy jumper with a large collar on his body in addition to his shorts, his sandals on his feet like every Tamer, "well how very unfortunate for them."

The girl plunged the kunai into the bullseye of the target above the blonde's head by throwing it, all of them smiling; they were ready to fight at this year's exam.

oOo

"How can we have two sensei, and yet neither one shows up on time when they call us?" Sora roared six days after the run in with the Sandstorm Tamers, Tai nodding in agreement while the three Digimon paced back in fear.

"Sora's right!" Tai acknowledged, nodding.

"Morning, all!" Satsuma called out from the top of a nearby lamppost, his hand raised greetingly, Kudamon around his neck, "today I found out that I had a deeper reason for being here-…"

"LIAR!" Sora and Tai bellowed in synch, "GET YOUR LIES STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU SHOW UP LATE!"

…

"Application forms?" Sora repeated, wide eyed.

"Yes," Kudamon responded, "these are application forms for the T'rin Exams. Sora, don't fret, if you don't feel up to it, then you don't have to take the Exams this year, it is all voluntary, but if you decide to participate, hand them in at the school tomorrow; that's the site of the first exam."

"Satsuma-sensei, I love you!" Tai cheered as he launched up and hugged the O'rin, who promptly pushed him back, the boy staring chirpily at his small form with the symbol for 'JOURNEYMAN' on it, _This is it! My chance to prove myself!_

Satsuma cleared his throat to get their attention, "Again, it's voluntary, but if you wish to participate tomorrow, return those forms with your signature affixed to room three on the second floor of the school, that's the registry point. That's it for today, you are dismissed so that you can think on it." He finished as he vanished with Kudamon with a leap onto a faraway building, vanishing from sight.

Tai, Sora and Matt began to walk down a path, their Digimon dismissed for the day and going their own way, and thought on their application.

Tai was more vocal about it, "Yes, the T'rin Exam! All the strong guys will be there!" he thought of Daiyo, and then turned to Matt with a mischievous smirk, _Oh, your time is coming Matt, you'll lose to me, I'll get promoted for winning this thing, and then I'll be one step closer to replacing the coffin ditcher as Senksha!_

Matt thought about his own goals, _Finally, I'll be getting a challenge… I might fight that Keenan kid! _He gave an excited shudder with a weak smile.

Sora was despondent in her thoughts, having fallen behind in the three man march, stopping as she pessimistically thought, _Forget Matt, I can't keep up with a moron like Tai… and now something menacing like the T'rin Exams… I'm not sure…_

oOo

The next day, in front of their old school, Matt (his hands pocketed) waited with Sora as Tai ran up, his form in his hand, "Sora, I'm here!"

"Morning… Tai…" Sora depressingly sighed as the chocolate haired boy came up to her.

Matt, keeping his hands in his pockets, looked across to Sora, especially on her slightly darker eyes, _Sora's acting weird today. She doesn't look like she got much, if any, sleep last night._

Inside the building on the third floor, their seemed to be a commotion, as a huge crowd of various Tamer K'rin crowded around a scene before room three, as one K'rin kicked away the boy known as Marcus back, he and his partner watching the entrance to the room like guards, warding off any attempt to enter.

"You plan on entering the T'rin Exam like that?" the bullying K'rin venomously snorted down at Marcus, who wiped away blood from his bruised cheek, "You should surrender now. You're just a little kid, not a Tamer."

"Yeah," his obnoxious partner agreed.

The girl from Marcus's team stepped forward, "Please, we don't want trouble, just let us through."

She walked over to the pair, being sent careening back into the wood floor by a firm backhand by the boy who kicked Marcus back.

"Oi, oi, hitting a girl?" one of the random K'rin from the Land of Earth spited from within the crowd.

"What'd you say?" the bully snorted, "This is an act of kindness. Even we've failed the Exam three times in a row, so what chance would most of you pitiful weaklings have? Those who've taken the Exam, failed, and quit being Tamers, been crippled or wound up dead; we've seen it all."

Sora clenched her jaw at this.

"What's wrong with thinning out the weak to not waste as much time and resources helping them recover from an Exam they had no chance at?"

Matt stepped forward, "Listen to yourself why don't you, you're using a surrounding, ranged Seiina encompassing this floor. I want to go to the second floor, not the third because my mind is twisted." He pointed out, Marcus looking up at him from the floor with a look of semblance.

"You noticed, did you?" the lackey scoffed with an evil grin on his face.

"Actually, I noticed second, mostly because of our genius at recognizing Seiina here," he gestured to Sora, who looked back with befuddlement, "isn't that right, Sora? You're the best at recognizing Seiina on our team."

Sora felt her lip quiver, _Thank you so much, Matt… _she looked hard and with strength at the bully, "Of course, it's obvious we're on the third floor because of some distortion Seiina around the building."

"Yep," Tai played along, putting his hands behind his head and smiling from ear to ear.

"Not bad, but all you managed to do was see through it!" the bully barked as he flickered out, appearing on the ground, fast approaching with a swiping kick, Matt going to meet it with his own kick, only to have Marcus phase in at the nexus of the blows in an instant, his face brimming with complacent confidence he lacked a minute ago as he grabbed both of them by the shins, all of their force disappearing.

Matt pulled back his leg while the bully rolled away, he and his partner vanishing, but going unnoticed as everyone focused on Marcus, _I put a lot into that kick… there's something odd about that chikara in his arms._

Marcus sighed as his two partners, Thomas and Yoshi walking up, the blonde boy complaining, "Hey, what happened to your ingenius plan of keeping a low profile, Marcus?"

Marcus grovelingly lowered his eyes, "I know, but… I can't just stand aside when someone much weaker than me is about to be attacked."

Yoshi groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "It's over now, Thomas, so can we stop this little act of trying to blend in with them and go to the testing hall?"

Matt's eyes turned to slits, _WEAK?_

"Not to mention that the girl reminds me of my little sister; you know how protective I am of Kristy, so…"

Sora flushed, his little sister? That was a step over the mark, "Hey, you are totally out of line!" she practically screeched.

"Hey you, over here," Thomas beckoned coldly to Matt, the blondes locking eyes, "what's your name?"

Tai burned inside, _Why is that overly confident blonde wannabe so important? Hello, I'm stood right here!_

Matt sneered, "Not required to answer the questions of the enemy now, am I?"

"What?"

Yoshi blushed, _Cute…_

Matt turned on his heel, following Sora and Tai (who moved sluggishly along) through the corridor down toward the staircase again to get to the second floor to hand in their forms.

In the dark room, the door slightly open to look upon the scene, the two bullies assumed the half Tiger seal and de-transformed into their T'rin forms, one snorting, "The first test; handing in the application, completed."

Matt was walking along with a strange smile on his face, _Three powerful enemies already found, and the exam hasn't even begun._

…

After handing in the forms, the three members of Squad Seven decided to take a small walk around the school, as the Exam began in twenty minutes. They walked into the dojo area when they heard a voice from the bleachers above, "Matt Ishida, you registered as? Wanna fight?"

They turned to find Marcus sat on the bleachers, leaping over onto the ground before them quickly and gracefully, Tai and Sora burning from anger for different reasons while Matt looked at him blankly, "You want to fight me? You went through the trouble of identifying me just to fight an Ishida?"

"My name is Marcus Damon. I would ask yours of you, but you didn't exactly make it difficult to read your form from a distance." Marcus pointed out kindly, "I just found out about your origin, your clan, and I wish to fight you to test my skills against the most respected clan in Terra's history... not to mention you have a replica of my sister, and I always work to look good in front of my sister!"

Sora angrily rebuttled Marcus, but Tai moped angrily in the corner, his fist tightly clenched, _Why is it always the blonde? Should I dye my hair? Will that do it?_

Matt scoffed, "Challenging the name of Ishida, frankly, you're a fool. You're about to learn why they are revered, Marcus."

Marcus smirked and entered a pre-battle stance, his hand raised like a beggar in front of him like a readied chop, _Now I'll show them all my power! I'll make you proud, Spencer-sensei!_

"Wait!" Tai called out with an ominous howl, looking back at the three with a popped vein in his head, "Move it blondie, I've heard you're name enough today. I'll take him."

Marcus tightened his gaze in his battle stance, "You are of no consequence to me; it is the Ishida."

"If I hear his name once more I swear I'll kill someone!" Tai growled as he blindly charged toward Marcus across the dojo floor, "Take this!" he called out, throwing a punch that was diverted effortlessly by a cobra chop with Marcus's extended hand, sending Tai into the floor, looking up vindictively.

"You have great strength in your fist, I just confirmed that, but you are unrefined as a Tamer in comparison to me and Matt Ishida over there."

"I warned you!" Tai barked, turning and aiming for a swivel kick up toward Marcus's head, only for the older boy to cock his head aside and twist on his own, his leg outstretched like a sweeper.

"_Cyclone!_" he rallied, executing a fantastic spinning kick directly into Tai's weak spot on his one leg planted in the ground, swiping it with power and making Tai swirl along the dojo floor, crashing into the wall with a crash and thump, dust rising from the wall, "Let me settle this now, you guys cannot hope to defeat me, because I am the strongest K'rin in the Terra Village."

Sora gaped at his power, _He beat Tai like it was nothing; worth even less than usual! He's so strong!_

Matt thought back, _When he stopped my leg during that tussle earlier, I felt some weird chikara; it was unnaturally powerful. I don't know the Genina he used, but that little display of power doesn't scare me, _he smirked, "Sure, sounds fun. Let's go."

Sora objected, "No, Matt! We all have less than fifteen minutes to get to the examination room!"

"I only need five."

Marcus snickered, _And I only need one._

Matt began his charge, his weapons of limits in the school, so he stayed away from his pouch. Slowing before Marcus, he stared on in amazement as the older K'rin looked so nervous, yet was so fast. He barely dodged the kick from above, Marcus's ascent hasty, by cocking his head back and tightening his chin to allow it to pass as Marcus dropped down onto the floor in front of him, planting his palm on the floor as he spun around in a full spiral on it. His foot inching toward Matt's face, the blonde lifted his arms in defence, only to suddenly have the foot bypassing his guard and kicking him feet away, landing hard on the wooden dojo floor.

Matt coughed on the floor as Sora raised a concerned brow, _What was that? He just went and rammed right through Matt's guard!_

Matt got to a knee and looked back at Marcus, who had reassumed his battle stance, _He got me that time… but what was that sudden burst of energy, was it Genina or Seiina?_

Marcus was silently impressed, _Excellent, the Ishida are as tough as rumoured._

Matt stood straight, his head lowered, but pulled up slowly, an evil smirk appearing, _I think it's time to practice using it, _he thought as he fully raised his head, a bruise on his cheek, but all attention on his two Surugan, both of them with two symbols rather than being mismatched like in the Land of Squalls, _Genina or Seiina, your attacks are now useless!_

Sora blushed furious as excitement coursed through her body at the sight, _Surugan, in both his eyes! When did he activate them? Just as I'd expect of the strongest member of our Squad, he's amazing! Now, like Satsuma-sensei, he can copy and analyse this guy's techniques in an instant and clobber him!_

_So that is the famed Surugan of the Ishida, _Marcus sweatdropped, holding his stance.

Sora's jaw dropped as Matt was propelled into the air, Marcus beneath his guard with his leg shooting up, sending him high up with a gag of blood as the blonde backflipped and landed on the dojo floor once more, rubbing his chin and attempting to massage his pride, _This technique must be fast… he's got impressive speed, so is it possible to create hand seals before he turns to face me? No, this can't be THAT simple…!_

"Yes, Matt, you see, I am using neither the Genina or Seiina disiplines," Marcus phased out with his speed again kicking Matt into the air the same way, the blonde barely capable of defending his chin with his arms as Marcus appeared behind him, both seemingly floating in the air as he spoke, "_Dancing Shadow Technique. _Matt, it is very simple once you think about it. I am using neither of the Tamer technique disciplines your Surugan can dissect in an instant; I am using Tekina, the martial arts. While you naturally can read through my moves, what's the point? Your body isn't strong enough to keep up and stop me; of course, you probably realized that after the first kick, no?"

Matt grunted as he looked over his shoulder at Marcus and the ground.

"You know, there are two types of Tamers; the genius prodigies and the hardworking stooges like me and your teammate down there, I can tell at a glance. If your Surugan is the culmination of generations of genius, then my simple mastery of Tekina counteracts its effects. And I'll prove it with my next move."

His bandages unfurled without him having done anything, and he seemed to be preparing for an attack of some kind with them, Matt incapable of reversing it in mid-air before a shuriken shot through the dojo and coiled the bandages, sticking them to the wall as Marcus landed gracefully, Matt copying his graceful style with his Surugan and then de-activating them as Sora went across and helped him stand up.

Marcus was bowing down respectfully, one knee and one fist on the ground as he looked at it shamefully, a Digimon stood before him. The Digimon O'rin was a Gamemon, a humanoid, red skinned creature with a scaly skin type, a pair of black pants and sandals, coupled with a large shell held on by two straps, one of said straps holding his Terra headband.

"Marcus!" the turtle man begun, "you know how much Spencer has tried to tell you not to use that in squabbles; it's forbidden, after all!"

The once almighty Marcus stayed silent in his bowing position as the turtle went on.

"It's a good thing I made a reverse summoning contract with Spencer while we were still young," he mumbled as he pulled a scroll out of his pants, rolled it on the floor and planted his palm on it, "_Reverse Summoning Technique!_" he yelled as smoke arose from the scroll, a shadow standing there and becoming clear as the smoke faded and Gamemon grabbed his scroll again, pocketed it and walked off, "He tried using the 'Blooming Lilly', Spencer. Have fun." He sarcastically laughed as he vanished into the corridor.

Spencer was a muscular, proud looking individual with bushy brown hair like Marcus's, but shorter and kempt. He wore a common Tamer O'rin vest and pants, tucking into his sandals, but wore on top of his sandals and his shins the same pair of legweights as Marcus, "Is that true, Marcus?"

The boy gave a moan of defeat, "Yes, Spencer-sensei."

"Marcus," the boy looked up, being launched backwards onto the wooden floor, a fist mark on his face, "you fool! I told you not to let your emotions get the better of you, didn't I!" he scolded like a father, "I mean, almost revealing your secret techniques- you're lucky Gamemon stopped you, or else these three would have the advantage in the Examinations!"

"But I didn't try _that one_, so he wouldn't have died; isn't that something Spencer-sensei?"

Spencer walked over and pulled him into a hug, the two sharing the hugging embrace tightly, "I understand; you've inherited your fire from your father, that much is clear.

All three members of Squad Seven were aghast, _Is this natural of a student teacher relationship? It seems excessively fiery; he punched him to teach him a lesson!_

"Well, Marcus, youth, bundles of energy and mistakes go together, however your punishment shall take place after the T'rin Exam. Five hundred laps!" Spencer stated, the older K'rin saluting out of respect for his teacher, who looked across to Squad Seven, "Hey, you three are Satsuma's, right? How's he doing nowadays?"

The three looked back stagnantly, Sora speaking up, "You know Satsuma-sensei?"

"Know him? He's my eternal rival!" Spencer laughed huskily.

Sora's jaw dropped, _That over-energetic guy?_

When she blinked, he had vanished, and appeared behind them instantly, without warning, "So, I take it since you're all here, he registered you. That's enough for me, I'll see him sooner or later in these Exams…" he scratched his chin as all three turned nervously to him.

Matt was confined in disbelief, _He got behind us in a flash! He's nearly as fast naturally as that kid in the Land of Squalls; Satsuma doesn't even compare! _

"Now, all of you, quit your squabbles and get moving along; the Exam begins in seven minutes." Spencer said as he vanished into smoke, vanishing.

Marcus took his master's words to heart and ran toward the bleachers, leaping skilfully to the top of them, running off after saying, "I was lying, Matt. I'm not the strongest K'rin in the Terra Village; he's that blonde guy on my team you gave the cold shoulder to. I'm here to defeat him, and now, your one of my targets as well." And like that, he was gone, off to the assigned Exam room.

Tai placed his hands on his head and looked across to Sora as she quelled a humiliated Matt, tensed fisted, "Matt, look… it wasn't… he was..."

Tai passively input, "Don't try Sora, if that's the best the Ishida clan can manage nowadays, it's not worth making him feel better."

"Tai!" she scolded.

"Shut up…" the blonde angrily growled, his head dropped and his teeth bared, "Loser, you couldn't hurt him either…"

"But I'm not one of the 'MIGHTY ISHIDA', now, am I?" Tai peeled back his lips slightly, "I know you saw it too when he was bowing, that fist he put on the floor," Sora looked at him questioningly, "it was ravaged by marks, bruises and scars beneath those bandages. Marcus trains harder than you and it showed, since you think you're good as you are, Matt."

Matt tightened his clenched fist before letting out a gasp of air and regaining his overconfident smirk that defined him, "This T'rin Exam is getting more and more interesting, isn't it? Ready to begin this thing, Tai, Sora?"

"Hell yeah!" Tai happily spouted, the girl of the team giving a blushingly relieved smile as the three began to make their way to the Exam room, determination and confidence on their side.

oOo

Satsuma stood in front of the doors to the Exam room, which was situated in the assembly hall used for large classes in the school, but was now going to be used for the first section of the T'rin Exam. He had a happy smile on his face, as did the perched Kudamon.

"I'm happy you all decided to come," he moved his eyes through the three, "especially you, Sora. This all hinged on you being here also."

Sora looked back curiously, "It… did…?"

"Yes, the Exams are only permitting three man cells of K'rin to take it, an old tradition, so if Tai and Matt came without you, I would have had to take them away. I'm truly happy that isn't the case; it's just I didn't want you to feel pressured or anything because I noticed a drop in your confidence lately. I'm proud of all of you. Now you may enter the Exam hall."

"Yeah!" Tai cheered as the three opened the doors and entered, closing them behind them as the two O'rin partners looked down the hallway once more, lowly wishing them luck.

oOo

Tai whistled quietly, Sora unnerved a little and Matt chiding as they were stared at by several different Tamers (minus their partners), their glares strong enough to burn the doors they had just walked through. They all looked strong in their own way; some big, some toting weapons and other strange weapon like objects.

Sora snorted and came to attention as a pang went off on her internal radar, _This smell of lillies and other flowers… this shallow breath similar to oinking! This annoying sense of stupidity, it's-!_

"Matt, there you are!" Mimi lovingly said as she hugged the blonde from behind, a furious blush on her cheeks and swooning in her voice, "it's been so long, I was wondering when you'd get here~!"

Sora snapped and pointed at the pink haired girl, "Strawberry, I should have known it was you the second I heard oinking in the room!" the auburn haired girl grated.

Mimi looked up at Sora, not releasing Matt from the hug from behind, "Well, well, it's the Jack O-Lantern herself. Gotta admit, cannon fodder like you here, I'm impressed."

"You three are taking this exam to? Try not to die, especially you, Tai."

Tai looked, bending sideways to find JP and Joe standing there doggedly behind Mimi and Matt, JP wolfing down a bag of potato chips, "The Happy Moron Brigade; I thought it was you!" he boked his fist into his palm decisively.

"What'd you say- oh, why bother, you'll flunk out quickly regardless." Joe simpered derogatorily of the work he was expected to do.

_Tai's Log_

_Joe Kido- Lazy bum who hardly ever does any work, even though he's hardly ever awake. Big headed, cocky idiot._

_JP Sumou- Fatass who would eat his own mother (a challenge!) if he could, and eats anything and everything. Fatass idiot._

_Mimi Tachikawa- I could go on for days. She's annoying, prudish, spoilt and a real princess type, not to mention her annoying crush on Matt, making her rivals with Sora. Idiot general who smells like flowers but has the personality of a venus fly trap; future man eater if I ever saw one!_

"Hey, hey, would you look at that," Davis and his squad walked up, the loudmouth still wearing his fur hood up, "we're back together again, the Nine Rookies! Too bad not many of us have what it takes to make the cut, right, Matt?"

Mimi shook her fist angrily at him as Matt scoffed, "A little overconfident there, Davis. It could get you hurt one day."

"Hey, we've been training nonstop, of course we can back up our boasting." Davis snorted, that arrogant smile on his face, teeth and all.

Tai interjected, "We all have been training, Davis. All nine of us have no idea how much better the others are."

Davis snorted again, looking at Tai, "Believe me, I count eight, seeing as your to horrendous a Tamer; I've seen you before."

_Davis Motomiya- Now this dude is annoying; forget everything I said about Mimi. He talks a good game, yet he's just as dim as that bulb in my bathroom!_

"Tai," Mikoto interjected timidly, "d-don't let Davis get to you… h-he's just-"

Tai could barely hear her, "Sorry, a little louder, please," he said, and like that her face flushed and she looked away, Davis looking down at the slightly smaller girl curiously.

_Mikoto Norstein- Kindest girl I've ever met, so she's okay in my book. Why she blushes whenever I talk or look at her is beyond me, and in all honesty it's a little weird…_

_Izzy Izumi- Short, silent kid from the school who had the name 'genius prodigy' for three years straight, but he's always been so silent and stays to himself, so he's got a kind of creepy, mysterious thing going for him._

"Hey now, all of you guys," a random interjector spouted, walking up to them. He was a young man with brown hair tied back in a ponytail, a purple Tamer get up with blue sandals and a Terra headband, representing the village, and full moon spectacles over his eyes which he tapped with his fingerless gloved hand, "you should keep your conversations down; don't be so boisterous."

"Who the hell are you?" Davis inclined gruffly.

"My name is Kurata Akihiro. I'm just telling you to stop acting like school girls because," he pointed behind them, "well, those guys."

They all looked back to find every single K'rin eyeing them dangerously, especially a bunch of breathing apparatus wearing ones directly behind them, popped veins and all, with headbands signified by the marking of two falling lines that jaggedly separated.

"Those are Tamers from the Waterfall Village in a far off land; very touchy, and particularly now, as everyone is anxious about the Exam, EVERYONE." Kurata tapped the end of his nose like a ditz and pulled a concerned face, "Of course, you nine are the new rookies of our village, right? How could you possibly understand how things work here? I was like you a while back when I first took the T'rin Exam."

Sora eyed him like a scanner, "Kurata… right? You talk like you've done this so many times before. How many attempts have you had at the exam?"

"Seven," he said embarrassedly, scratching the back of his head, "but that's a lucky number, right?"

Joe, even the downer, articulated his view, "So you haven't even managed to get that far in all of those attempts… Harima was right, this is going to be such a great bother…" he sighed.

"Don't fret, here, the T'rin Exams are held twice yearly in the village chosen to hold it that year, so I have three and a half years of preparation and information on my side in my bingo book," he ruffled in his pouch, pulling out said book, "it's full of the info on everyone here, even you guys, so I have the edge in battle. Tell me what you want to see and I'll show it, for example…"

He opened the book and laid it on the floor, both pages blank as he performed the Monkey and Horse seals, touching the paper and bringing ink to sight; a lot of writing appearing.

"Can't have it getting in the wrong hands now, can I?" he explained as he picked the notebook up and read it, "I have the distribution of these Tamers form each of the villages participating, but that's just a small taste. I have personal figures, stats and on some of them techniques and notes on every single person in this room today. Have any in mind?"

Matt stepped forward to him, "Do you have anything on a Marcus Damon and Keenan of the Sand?"

He flipped though his book at what seemed like light speed, his eyes rapidly looking before abruptly stopping on a page, "Marcus Damon is three years older than you guys, and has been training as a K'rin for those three years since graduation. In the last year, he's been recognized as one of the most powerful rookies as his Tekina skills have skyrocketed. In his past, he's completed twenty D Ranks and thirteen C Rank missions with his sensei Spencer and his teammates Thomas Norstein and Yoshi Fujieda."

He flipped over three pages.

"Keenan of the Sand is a mysterious participant this year, as he's had eight C Ranks and… one B Rank as a K'rin! That's unheard of, not to mention the rumours about his prowess; not one scratch on any of these advanced missions. That's it, there isn't anything else I could get; he covers his tracks too well for me to get any more information to use later."

He packed the notebook away into his pouch.

"All in all, there are six villages who have sent Tamer candidates; their best K'rin,and besides us of the Hidden Terra, there is also the Hidden Storm Village in the Land of Sparks, which is renowned as being exception anyway. This year, it'll be difficult. There are so many dangerous and powerful juniors here, I got to say, I think that eighth attempt looks likely."

Mikoto stirred and pulled her hand to her face, "Its nerve wracking…. What if it's too hard?"

Sora added, "There are so many powerful K'rin here… it shakes your confidence before it's even begun…"

"Not that much; watch." Tai allured, grabbing the other eight's attention as he turned a pointed toward the crowd of foreign K'rin glaring at the nine, "MY NAME IS TAI KAMIYA; AND ALL OF YOU BASTARDS ARE GOING DOWN!" he boomed, the room falling silent and allowing a small echo.

Sora gaped at him as Mimi slipped in behind and slapped her on the shoulder, pointing at the former class clown, "The hell is wrong with him, he's your boyfriend, get him under control, girl!"

Sora surged wrathfully, getting in Mimi's face, "What'd you say?"

"Sorry, overstepping the mark since you can't get one?"

"What was that, Strawberry? Wanna take this outside?"

"Sure thing, Jack O-Lantern! Get through the door and it'll happen!"

Tai pulled back into his hands on head pose, "Yeah, try and shake my confidence now!"

Matt smirked coolly at his gesture, _This idiot never ceases to amuse me…_

Kurata also gave an obligatory smirk.

The stares grew into brewing malice after Tai's little pep cheer of sorts, Daiyo, Tsuki and Keenan looking back at him from the middle rows, Daiyo whispering, "That kid from outside… he barks an awful lot for someone with dull fangs and a dim brain."

Tsuki chortled in agreement, while Keenan kept his black marked eyes fixed on the confident K'rin.

Yoshi was aghast at the outburst, "What a total moron, not to mention a jerk," she jeered.

Thomas hummed in agreement, "He seems to be full of spunk… Marcus, whatever you did seem to fail."

Marcus looked back derived of intense emotions, "He has more spunk than Ishida. That much was obvious; also, I never really checked, but he had a fearsome punch when he came at me."

In the far corner, there was an assembled threesome of Sound K'rin, the same as had been spying on the scene with Keenan. The leader was a slouched boy with bandages wrapped around his face and baggy clothes that had extremely oversized sleeves, "Did you hear that guy, not bothering to mention the Sound when he talked about the Sparks and the Ember?"

His partner, an obnoxious boy in a jumper and camouflage pants nodded, "You think we should give him a demonstration of why we should be revered?"

The girl of their three man cell, long black hair in a low tied pony tail, wearing camouflague pants and boot like sandals giggled devilishly, "Let's do it." She mumbled as they all phased out, taking a path through the crowd without being noticed by many.

Daiyo noticed, going for one of the bandage straps attached to his 'Black Widow' before Keenan put an arm in front of him, dismissing the act as he followed the three as they leapt out of the crowd, the boisterous boy throwing two kunai toward Kurata, who seemed to have eyes in the back of his head as he easily sidestepped them and slid across the floor, before the bandaged Sound Tamer went for a swipe with his revealed fist, the sleeve pulled up so far that a strange device resembling a harmonica was exposed on his arm like a glove.

Kurata easily dodged the measly swipe and prepared to retaliate before his vision distorted and a loud ringing was in his ear, his glasses cracking and falling off his face as he hunched over in agony and vomited, the nine rookies aghast.

Sora and Tai ran over, helping him up as the three assaulters phased in before them like blurs, the girl speaking up, "You may want to be careful who you omit from your little speech on the most powerful villages. If you had, that wouldn't have happened." She smugly chortled.

"What happened there, Thomas?" Yoshi asked, not taking her eyes away from the fiasco.

The blonde tightened his stare as he put simply, "I don't know what just happened."

Keenan looked on vividly before snorting in disappointment, _They hide behind that type of Genina, do they?_

Smoke exploded like a volcano at the front of the classroom, a thick, heavy voice holleringfrom within the large cloud, "ALRIGHT YOU INSIGNIFICANT BASTARDS, LISTEN UP!" the smoke billowed and withered away out of the windows of the second floor exam hall room as a large man in a trench coat and vest attire (almost exactly like Satsuma) and his Terra headband worn in such a way that his entire crown and head was covered, "My name is Kaname Ibuza, your proctor for the first instalment of the T'rin Exam and from this moment forth, your nemesis."

He looked to the back of the room disgustedly, raising a judge like finger.

"Hidden Note or Sound or whatever your backwash village is called. Your village was only granted first time access to this exam this time around, regardless of the sketchy background. Do you want to disgrace your village after it has been recognized?"

The bandage faced leader turned, "Forgive us, we were just a little… edgy…"

"I will firmly ground this into your skulls now," Kaname dementedly said, befitting a man of his giant stature, "no killing and no fighting is permitted within the exam without permission of your proctor; even then, killing is a distinguished way to leave this competition and risk being barred in future. This is a friendly Examination between villages, do not take the meaning in vain!"

"This exam sounds easy, or is it just us 'backwash' Tamers?" the second Sound Tamer vindictively said, the T'rin behind the proctor chuckling at his sentiment of 'ease'. He had no idea yet.

"Instead of your current seating arrangements, you will all come up one by one," he displayed a small token with the number one on it, "and receive a token, sitting where told to prevent any teamwork. After that is done, the T'rin accompanying me will hand out the first of three sections in the Exams; written communication."

Tai's eyes bulged, "A… written, test…?" he meekly said.

…

Now re-seated in assigned spots, everyone was handed a single sheet of paper with a question beside a large answering box. There were some diagrams as well such as trees and trajectories and such. All in all, Tai counted nine questions on the paper as he frantically looked around; Sora was in the back row, and god knew where Matt was in the filled, giant exam hall. He was so screwed.

Sora chuckled lowly, _Look at Tai! He's so nervous! And he should be, this is the worst kind of test for him. If this is all the T'rin exams are, I don't see why I was worried!_

Beside him, Tai heard a faint attempt to talk to him, turning to a blushing Mikoto, "Let's do our best, Tai!" she tried to sound loud, but ended up as more of a whimper. Tai thanked her regardless as chalk scratched the board.

On said board, Kaname had written in bold 'T'RIN EXAMINATION STAGE ONE RULES', causing everyone to stir in their seats as Kaname turned to them, "Alright, listen up! There are a few rules to this test you need to know about, and we're getting close to the start time, so no questions will be answered."

Sora blinked, _No questions at all? Isn't that a little off?_

"First off then, you guys start off with a perfect score of ten that is also doubling as your answer points. This test works on a subtraction system that will take away from these ten points, for example, you get every question right and we don't use the subtraction clause on you, you end with ten, however, if you get three wrong, but don't lose any the other way, you still get seven points."

Sora eyed him suspiciously while Tai rubbed his chin from his seat in the middle of the room, _So for me getting zero still means zero, so I really don't need to listen to this._

"Secondly, this is a team test, meaning the combined scores of all three will need to reach a pre-determined criteria to pass."

Sora dropped her head from her palm onto the desk, and then shot up, "Hold on a second, I don't get the initial points system either, but why is it a total score of the team and not a single one?"

Kaname shot her a filthy glare through the rows, "Silence, you have no inclination to question me, didn't you hear me a moment ago? There is a reason, now shut up." He said with a heavy malice as the girl backed down into her seat, "And the third rule, the reason for the points system is to discourage any… shady activities, namely cheating. Every offence caught by the T'rin sitting on both ends of every row will result in a two point reduction in your score of ten, regardless of whether you get a score higher than the points subtracted; it will be locked like that. I warn you if you dare, the T'rin are extremely sharp, I chose them myself carefully for that trait. Five strikes of cheating, and you and your team are done, regardless of how honest and true the others are."

Sora jerked up in her seat, sweatdropping, _That's devious! There are ways to lose points other than incorrectly answering? Tai needs to by the look of it, but if he's caught-!_

"Realize this before I allow you to begin; those unworthy Tamers who get themselves caught in the act will only be eroding their team from inside, and could lose the trust of their mates if they are not wholehearted and see fit to even dare try cheating. T'rin must be honourable and sharp as a tack, as this test will surely prove to you all." Kaname finished writing the three down, all of the T'rin sat on their chairs at the ends of each row with a clipboard and pen to strike against the numbers listed down the row they are assigned.

Sora sweatdropped more, _Calm down, Sora… just think it through. Sure, Tai's an idiot with no hope at this kind of exam, but Matt and I are capable of getting high scores… we just have to cover for him with two thirds of the exam._

Kaname hummed and looked devilishly at the rows of K'rin again, "Oh, and there is one more rule I want you to remember. Besides the five strikes rule, if a person fails to write down any answers or answers them all incorrectly, the entire team will be rejected!"

Sora's jaw dropped and her mouth gaped, _No, no, no, no, no, no, no~!_

Matt felt his eyes burst wide open, _No way!_

Tai drooped his shoulders, a defeated look on his face, "Of all the… any other exam, I would've been fine but this… oh, I am so dead…"

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_Next time, on Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles!_

_Me and the others are in hot water in the exam room, as we all are secluded and have only ourselves to trust… I can't do it, I have to cheat… Mikoto's pretty smart, but if I get caught…!_

_Aww, instead of working on that ability I learned from Agumon with my Digivice, I should've studied; look at this stuff!_

xxx

**A/N: **Two in one day, I am overdoing it, but seven weeks until exam results day and a further three after that leave me not much else to do…

Please review!


	11. Episode Eleven

**A/N: **Chapter eleven in the story is reached, and we're already totalling almost 80, 000 words so far, meaning just under 8000 words per chapter.

About Davis, he is older in this to replace Kiba, as his character doesn't fit the advanced genius type, so he is eleven also, three years older than in Digimon. Akamaru has been removed so he's a single fighter but… well, you'll eventually see.

As every good Fan Fiction author knows on this site when it extends to nearly 100, 000 words, training scenes and in this case written exam translations are an inevitability, however tedious they are…

Also, in addition, the other great eye technique, the Shuhengan, or peripheral eye is introduced!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Eleven: Difficult Decision! Make it or Break it, Tai!**_

…

_K'rin Reference Book_

_Marcus Damon_

_Age: 14_

_Family Unit: Father, Mother, Sister (Kristy)_

_O'rin Sensei: Spencer_

_Missions Completed: 20 D Rank, 13 C Rank, 0 B Rank, 0 A Rank (S Rank N/A)_

_Conclusions: Master Tekina specialist, taking after his teacher, Spencer, and all round tough Tamer. His partner, Agumon, is a rare specimen of untold power (ref. Taichi Kamiya) yet is rarely summoned from his home to aid in battle by Marcus. A detriment is his poor skills at Genina and Seiina._

…

"BEGIN!" Kaname called out with a gruff guffaw beneath his breath, the scratching of pencils and paper sounding out loudly in an almost synchronized monotone sound, some participants looking around in thought, their eyes running away as they came eye to eye with the T'rin at the end of their rows, pens ready against their clipboards.

Sora, in a far back row, three from the back, looked directly into the middle, focusing on Tai's distinctive hair style, _That last rule really piles on the pressure… c'mon Tai, get at least one right!_

Tai trembled slightly at the academic challenges before him before adjusting his headband, _After that whole thing in the Land of Squalls, I can't lose to a piece of paper; this is no big challenge, _he looked at question one of nine, a paragraph of encode message, _A cryptogram… I can come back to that later, on to question two!_

Matt could hardly see Tai from his seat in the far right of the fourth from last row, _Damn it… it won't be long now, Tai's going to start freaking out at these advanced questions…_

Sora looked on, sweatdropping, _I wonder if Tai will be alright… No, I should focus; if I get a low score we're definitely going to fail. Now where was I… question two, 'Tamer A is a shuriken practitioner in the field, and he spots Tamer B at a distance of twenty seven metres away, the tree seven in its self; explain in depth how the enemy is within the amiable shuriken circumference of throwing could be better effected by a different tactic in this situation, using two different suggestions of tactics'. This is an extremely advanced question that requires in depth knowledge and mathematical application, forget Tai, I think Matt might be thrown through a loop by this! Lucky at least I can do it… _

Tai's face shrunk in on itself while Matt chided, a bead of sweat dripping down his temple, _I can't answer any of these… and what's with the little note in the bottom right hand corner? 'The Examiner will reveal the details of question ten fifteen minutes before the end of the hour long exam period'. What's that guy got up his sleeve…?_

Tai cupped his hands around his chin, sweating uncontrollably, _This is really, really bad! Even the Happy Moron Brigade is probably doing better than me! I can't answer a single one of these!_

Mikoto glanced sadly at Tai beside her as he rammed his head lightly into the desk, muttering nonsensically.

Matt rolled his eyes along to his right a few more seats at the T'rin who had eagle eyes fixated on the entire row, _That's something else that's getting to me… why such precautions to prevent us cheating?_

Sora looked around tentatively, careful to not give the T'rin anything, _This is so weird… that second rule… if they value us as a team out of over fifty, the scores would need to be quite high… as a hypothesis, it is possible that only ten will be allowed in, meaning that we'll need top tier scores. This test is based around encouraging cheating, which goes against his saying 'wholehearted'… as long as Tai and Matt don't fall into that trap, we'll be fine._

Tai was thinking on different lines, _Come on, Tai… is there a way to cheat without getting caught? You've got no hope in hell on your own at these questions… but if I get caught, I'll be penalized!_

Matt was pondering on question four as he heard a not too far off scratching on paper that differed from the K'rin next to him; a T'rin was marking on his clipboard near him, _Someone got caught… what is the meaning of this, all that talk of proud Tamers, yet making a pressured environment on every isolated participant where cheating is made necessary? _His mind burned and his pupils dilated, _No way, is that what this is really about?_

_-Realize this before I allow you to begin; those unworthy Tamers who get themselves caught in the act will only be eroding their team from inside, and could lose the trust of their mates if they are not wholehearted and see fit to even dare try cheating._

Matt had a moment of blissful understanding before sweatdropping and shooting a glare over to Tai, _This is not just a test of our intelligence, far from it! This is an exercise in espionage and information gathering with our skills in an enemy environment! _Matt turned his eyes to the front of the room, to Kaname,_ That devious bastard! That's what he meant! If you are going to cheat for information like a spy, do it wholeheartedly and do it without the observers taking note; in this case, the T'rin and the person being cheated off of! C'mon Tai, even you can manage if you notice; all of the smart guys are beginning to notice as well, and are making their move!_

Keenan looked at his test, basic answers with a lot of room for additional information on all nine questions. The ten year old feigned rubbing his eye with a half Tiger seal, sand conjoining high above the room, out of everyone's sight. Keeping his eye closed and looking down at his paper, he waited for the technique to form.

High in the air at the ceiling, the sand grains began shaping into an eyeball that moved around, looking for a target and finding it, the vision on the eye like a kaleidoscope and focusing from its airspace on a chosen candidate's paper, the visual data being transferred through the technique to Keenan's closed eye, which he kept closed in low profile while he wrote down the answers.

Izzy was sat in his seat, etching on his paper as a fly circled his head, landing on his extended finger, "Number eight… of course, it's so obvious now…" he whispered as the fly flew off, the boy continuing to question nine.

Yoshi was writing her own paper, but secretly had ultra-thin wires attached to kunai hoisted mirrors at the ceiling she had placed up as a precaution while everyone was focused on the Sound, _Marcus, if you can remember the plan I told you, you'd best adjust your forehead protector…_

Marcus was three rows directly in front of her, slinking a glance to the mirrors attached to the ceiling as they reflected Izzy's paper, the boy taking his headband that he wore like a belt and wrapping it around his forehead to signal he could see.

The leader of the Sound Tamers kept his eyes closed, one beneath the bandaged face, and focused intently on the person in front of him, _That tapping from touching the paper coupled with that rhythm of pencil and paper… yes…_

Thomas closd his eyes and channelled a burst of chikara to his eyes, the pure navy blue becoming shineless light purple with veins popped beside his temples and cheeks toward the intensified gaze, _Shuhengan_, he thought as his eyes pierced through the candidate before him like a scanner, focusing on his paper as he began to copy down the answers.

Matt focused chikara into his eyes as well, his Surugan activating, his eyes red and marked, as he scanned the boy before him, _He's been answering carefully, so… _he began to mimic the boy's movements from behind with his pencil, perfectly copying his answers with his hand writing.

Tai writhed in agony as his brain burned, _Gotta cheat, maybe a quick peek at Mikoto's if I pretend to sneeze…_

He froze as a shuriken darted just past his ear, looking back as it slammed above a boy's hand as he was writing, piercing his paper as he looked up to a T'rin observing from the front, "You there, you failed five times at controlling yourself; get out, your teammates to. Number twenty seven, fail. Number forty and fifty nine, fail!"

The three grovelingly left the room, the cheater getting a disgusted glare from the two as they walked out, their heads hung in shame.

Tai looked back at his test, his jaw clenched, _Crap… cheating isn't an option; they're too sharp!_

"Tai…" Mikoto spoke in her normal tone, which was still a faint whimper of a whisper, "you can copy my test if you want to…"

Tai looked at her glancingly for a moment, before whispering back, "Why would you do that, Mikoto?"

Once again, as per the norm, she flushed and pulled into herself, "I… uh… I don't w-want you to leave the exams…" she saw the conspicuous glint in his eye and deviated, "you know, we nine rookies have got to stick together…"

"Oh, I see… I think!" Tai happily whispered as Mikoto feigned a sigh and leant on her exam paper, sliding it inconspicuously to show the first side as she closed her eyes in a fake rest. Tai moved to read, but the scratch of the T'rin near him marking a cheat of someone near him deterred him, "Thank you Mikoto… but I have to do this on my own… Not to mention, I don't want you to get in hot water, Mikoto."

The girl flushed another shade darker on her cheeks, _He's… worried about me…?_

Tai dropped his shoulders and closed his eyes, _And being selfish like that would mean Sora and the blonde would be in trouble as well… I can't blow it now… Thirty minutes have passed, but I can't answer any of these questions… I'll have to risk it all on the tenth question!_

Mimi, in the back row with a perfect sight of Sora's head, looked at the auburn Squad Seven member and grinned devilishly, _So the Jack O-Lantern finished… time to do it, the Tachikawa clan speciality! _She contemplated, assuming an original Hand seal of the Tachikawa, forming a diamond with her index and middle fingers and thumbs, her other fingers extended out, _Spiritual Possession Technique!_

Her body flopped over softly onto her desk, her hands clenched in a way that it appeared she was stressed by the paper and bowed to think it over. Sora gasped as she felt a strange force hit her head before everything went black. Her body still moved, Mimi's spirit having been transferred into the girl's body, smiling victoriously in it.

_Sorry, Jack O-Lantern, _the spirit of Mimi thought in Sora's body, grabbing her finished nine question paper and analysing it, _got three minutes until the technique dispels; gotta memorize the answers so I can enter Joe and JP's bodies and write on their papers._

The T'rin kept on piling the failed teams, calling out seat numbers and announcing their failures, Kurata taking note from his seat, _That makes fifteen teams…_

"Excuse me!" Daiyo shot up, smiling innocently with one eye open (a habit of his), his hand in the air, a T'rin acknowledging as he asked, "can I go to the bathroom?"

After being placed in handcuffs attached to a chain held by one of the T'rin, who walked Daiyo out of the room.

oOo

"Man," Daiyo groaned as he answered nature's call, "these T'rin are nothing, they didn't even notice an extra one," he glanced across the bathroom to the T'rin, whose face cracked like a mask, revealing a wooden complexion beneath the human mask, "right, 'Black Widow'? So, tell me answers one through nine."

oOo

Kaname scanned the withered down numbers of candidates, less than half of the original fifty plus strong, and a half cocked mark carved onto his chiselled, scared face, _Now that the unworthy have been removed, I guess it's about time, _he looked to a pocket watch in his trench coat pocket, "Alright, I will now tell you the tenth and final question."

Tai tensed up, _This is it! Do or die, remember, do or die!_

Matt looked on incredulously, _Finally…_

Sora (Mimi having left her body) gave a sneer, _The final hurdle… will Tai be alright?_

Tsuki ruffled her blonde locks out of her face, revealing concern plastered all over it, _Come on Daiyo! You're supposed to pass the answers to me before the tenth question!_

Kaname's smirk fell into a steely leer, "Now beforehand, I will announce the additional rules of the tenth question to you all."

Everyone became wooden at the proclamation, beads of cold sweat seeping at their temples.

The back doors opened and Daiyo was led in by the false T'rin, its mask re-plastered as he entered, Kaname giving a small chuckle, "Good timing; your doll was beneficial, I hope?"

Daiyo felt his heart skip a beat, _How long has he known? When could he have seen through the Widow's disguise?_

"Sit down, the tenth question is about to be announced."

Daiyo was unlatched from the handcuffs by the disguised Widow and walked down the middle of the separated rows to his seat. When he came to the eighth row, Tsuki on the end, he dropped a scrunched ball of paper that she promptly hid in her sweaty palm.

Kaname continued after the boy from the Sandstorm sat back in his assigned seat, "These are the rules of desperation… the rules that apply only to the tenth question."

oOo

In the staff room of the Tamer school, the three O'rin and Kudamon sat on the vinyl red couches, the desks filled to capacitywith student information behind them as they sank into the couches, Satsuma complaining, "I actually miss the rookies… it's too quiet…"

Harima blew out the billowing smoke from his cigarette, "Don't worry, from what I was told, they'll be back momentarily in failure. I heard that their first proctor is Kaname Ibuza; you know the one."

Kudamon sighed, "The sadist… really, the kids have next to no chance against a formidable mind like that."

Tenma eyed all three complacent O'rin fellows conspicuously, "Who is this Ibuza? Why are you guys so set in your idea of the rookies failing."

Harima chuckled and tapped his cigarette into an ash tray beside him, "I forgot, your still relatively new, Tenma… of course you wouldn't have heard of his work, otherwise you wouldn't have asked such a question."

"So I'm oblivious to this man's work, enlighten me."

"He's a specialist amongst Tamers… and a legend among the DATS Squad of the Terra Village, especially in his department that has been revolutionised since his instalment… the Interrogation Squad… he specializes in torturing the mind to the very brink of madness… it's a technique he's practised over the years. Everyone in the other Nations are wary of his existence in the possibility of capture. The kids are about to find out why he is known as the 'Virtuoso of the Mind', Special O'rin Kaname Ibuza."

Satsuma sighed, "Foreign O'rin have been known to break in his presence… even if he holds back, the kids have a minute chance of success… he's one of the few besides Kudamon to have status as a 'special O'rin'."

oOo

Kaname continued, "The first rule, is that you may choose to not take the tenth question if you so choose."

Matt arched his brows, _Not take it? In an exam…? What's his angle this time?_

Tsuki slammed a palm on her desk ferociously, "SO WHAT IF WE CHOOSE TO NOT TAKE IT? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE OTHER NINE IF THE TENTH WOULDN'T GIVE US A PERFECT SCORE?"

"If you so choose, your points are automatically reduced to zero; you'll fail, along with your two teammates." He said coolly and with a sense of composition in his steely face.

"THEN WHY WOULD WE POSSIBLY REFUSE?" one candidate angrily exclaimed within the group of examinees.

Another one leapt in as well, "WHAT WOULD THE POINT IN REFUSING BE?"

Kaname chortled darkly before looking scarcely at the examinees, "Now, now… you really should compose yourselves; that's where the second rule comes in."

Sora flinched, _Another…? Aren't we under enough as it is?_

Kaname gave his hallowing chortle again, "If you choose to take the tenth question, but get it wrong, you shall henceforth be barred from ever attempting the T'rin Exams again!"

Davis shot up and slammed his fists against the desk, "That's bull, man! There are plenty of people who've repeated this exam before! You can't just-!"

"How very unfortunate… they had to receive me this year; I'm not soft on anyone, but if you are so affronted by the risk, by all means leave… now, if you want to leave and spare yourself the risk of being barred, leave now!"

Sora bite her lip to restrain any outburst, _So if you leave, your teammates, regardless of their wishes, have to be taken down with you; but conversely, if you take it and get it wrong, you'll be doomed to be a T'rin forever! This is the worst!_

Kaname coldly continued, "One last chance to save yourself; raise your hand, have your number recorded and take your mates out of here for the safety of next year's exam. Now, raise your hands or else you could be barred from attempting again!"

A rabid muttering and wittering ran throughout the exam hall, roving eyes and beads of sweat abundant as the candidates remaining contemplated their fate.

Tai scrunched his face up, _The tenth is my only hope of passing with a point… but if I get it wrong, I'll be a K'rin for the rest of my life! I could try next year with a different proctor, but Matt and Sora would have to fail with me… which is the lesser of the choices; which one is best for me and the Squad?_

Sora looked forward to Tai sternly, _I'm confident that I could do it, and perhaps Matt could to… but Tai's different, he isn't an intellectual like us. C'mon, raise your hand Tai, think only about yourself, it's okay!_

Tai didn't raise his hand, but the man beside him did, sweat peeling down his face, "I'm… I'm out! Udon, Shinsui, I'm so sorry!" he mumbled weakly as he and his team left, their numbers called.

Following that, six more hands rose, then twelve; the remaining teams wittled down to Squads Seven, Eight, Ten, Thomas's team, the Sandstorm, Kurata's and a few more teams from different Nations remaining.

Tai trembled at the vast numbers of candidates failing, Sora looking at him piteously from her seat, _C'mon Tai… why aren't you raising your hand? You should have figured the risks are too great so why-?_

_-Insult me while you can, old man! I'll become Senksha someday, and you'll eat your words!_

_-Shut up and hurry into the ground, old man, I will become Senksha, regardless of what you people say!_

Sora's face went from worried in complacent in a second of her recollection, _That one impossible dream is all he's got… it'd kill him to have it taken away, but his pride and stubbornness is preventing him from quitting… I'm sorry, Tai. I won't let you do this to yourself._

She went to raise here hand, retracting it as Tai slowly lifted his, getting Matt to stare at him vividly as well before he slammed his palm on the desk and standing up, "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME, OLD MAN; I WON'T RUN, SO GIVE IT UP! EVEN IF I'M A K'RIN FOREVER, I'LL STILL BECOME SENKSHA!"

Everyone looked at him, Matt and Sora relieved in their own ways, the blonde remarking lowly that Tai wasn't thinking about him and Sora at all, while Sora smiled sweetly and remarked he was that level of idiot.

Kaname goaded viciously, "Last chance; are you sure you want to risk it all?"

"I follow my unbending words, that's my philosophy, and I stick to it." Tai matched the cold tone and manic stare tit for tat with Kaname, smirks and full blown, ear to ear smiles around him.

Kaname held up the stare and scanned the room, _This kid singlehandedly just blew away all of the uncertainty in the air. They're all reassured now… seventy two, that's a lot more than I expected; that's twenty four squads! Right then…_

He peered to the T'rin, all of them giving a curt nod, a soft smile chiselling its way onto his pallid and scarred features.

"Good, good!" Kaname guffawed, "well, with that, I congratulate you all on advancing to the second Exam!"

"WHAT?" Tsuki shot out of her chair amidst the decadant silence filling the air, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE PASS? WHAT ABOUT THE TENTH QUESTION?"

"Silly girl," he laughed a lot more gently and with less menace than before, "that was the tenth question; those two decisions, either risk it all to reap a great reward, or play it safe and miss the chance!"

"Then why did you give us those first nine questions if the tenth was the only relevant one?"

"Oh, no," Kaname contradicted, "those first nine were far more prevalent than the tenth; it was a way to test your abilities at information gathering in a pressured exam environment! Why do you think security detail was so tight? Real Tamers face such conditions all the time in foreign land, and are in much greater danger. It was a test to see if you could gather the information without alerting the sentinels, and to see if you could stay calm and collected as you did it. For that purpose, planted two T'rin who knew the answers in with you to make the information correct."

Tsuki slowly sunk back into her seat, nodding in acknowledgement.

Tai crossed his arms and closed his eyes benevolently, "Yeah, I thought it was something along those lines."

Sora burned the back of his head with her eyes, _Liar, you were on the verge through it all!_

Mikoto giggled softly beside him with a small pink tint on her cheeks.

Kaname continued after holding onto the knot of his headband, "As I said before, those who cheat inadequately are dooming themselves and therefore their teammates and the village of origin, putting a lot of pressure on them. In this Digital World, run by Tamers and the Digimon in cohabitation, information on the enemy is vital, and can cost lives to retrieve."

He unfurled the knot on his head band and pulled it off, revealing a heavily scarred head with bolt and screws implanted to help with injuries he had received in the past.

Matt scanned his head, _Horrific burning, bolts, screws… all signs of severe torture in his past._

The leader of the Sound Tamers chuckled beneath his bandaged face, _Well, well… tough one if he can be so jovial about showing those off… his body and hands must be even worse if he's stopping at his head. Too bad I'm not too inclined to being a prisoner…_

Keenan looked on with his cold, black marked eyes at Kaname as he wrapped the headband over his wounded head, "Remember this when you are actually out in the field; in enemy territory. Information is a great weapon that can do devastating damage to an enemy. If they get a whiff of you, they can falsify information to harm your village, then capture you and do unspeakable things to get you talking."

Tsuki blinked, "But that doesn't… what is the purpose of question ten?"

Kaname solemnly smiled, "Its purpose was a two way decision faced everyday by Tamers on the field of battle; take it or leave it chances, and those who chose retreat in this exam failed, while you who dared risked it all in a leap of faith. If faced by the threat of unknown enemy Tamers of unknown numbers to steal a document vital to the safety of your village, do you retreat to avoid your comrades dying around you?"

Everyone wittered before Kaname silenced them, "The answer is a definite no! Missions cannot be avoided as a Tamer, and your Digimon partners that are with you as a T'rin will also act as your subordinate and will be morally set by your courage. Courage is the key factor to being a T'rin captain, and you have just displayed that, so again, congratulations all of you on passing!"

"Hell yeah!" Tai victoriously celebrated with everyone else in the room (except for Keenan and co.).

Kaname chuckled, _Interesting one… and to think he is THAT kid as well…_

Suddenly, the rear doors burst open, a woman standing there proudly. She was an O'rin dressed in an open crème coloured trench coat with a vest covering her cleavage and running down to her thighs, a crème skirt atop it, shinpads and black Tamer sandals on as well as her Terra headband.

"Alright, candidates," she scanned around the seventy two remaining, a shocked expression turning into an ear to ear smile as her voice bolstered, "follow me to the next testing ground. I am your second proctor, Daisy Gintama!"

Everyone stared at her as Kaname nonchalantly stepped forward, "Well… my job is over now, so…"

"Kaname, what is this? Seventy two? You have twenty four teams still here? How easy did you make that exam?"

"Oh, this time, there were outstanding individuals," he rolled his eye over to Tai for a second.

Daisy rubbed the back of her head and sighed, "Really? That's a shame since they'll be cut down into a fraction of what they are no in the second exam… Come with me, now."

oOo

The candidates, all seventy two of them looked silently at the sight before them; a high, barbed wire fence with several signs deterring entry spanning as far as the eye could see, within them large trees like mangroves climbing like emergent to over 40 metres tall, and taller as was seen further inside, moss abundant from the first batch of trees.

Daisy stood at one of the chained up gate entrances through the fence and faced the candidates, a small kiosk with two T'rin beside her, "Listen up maggots! This is the site of the second stage of the T'rin Examinations; practise area number fifty four, the Deathly Forest. You'll soon find out why it is known by that name…"

Tai snorted and placed his hands on his hips, shaking his rear from side to side while mockingly repeating, "'You'll soon find out why it is known by that name'. Bring it on! I'm all revved up for a physical exam!"

Daisy closed her eyes and smiled girlishly with a faint blush, "Wow, a real tough guy!" she dropped the smile as she thrust her wrist to the side, clasping her fingers around the kunai contained in her sleeve and threw it at Tai, grazing his cheek and making it bleed a little as she phased in behind him, holding him in a mocking headlock, "Tough guys like you litter the forest with their overconfident little bones," she giggled.

She froze as a cold shudder ran through her spine, pulling another kunai out of her sleeve and holding it around a strange pink thing wrapped around a kunai. It was the tongue of another insane female, a candidate from the Hidden Reed Village who wore a tucked in baggy crème jumper, a purple shaded rope belt and black pants.

"I was," the candidate said with a rasp, her tongue still extended around the kunai somehow, "just returning your knife."

Daisy chided but smiled on the surface, "Why thank you, Reed Tamer… do you mind backing off? I don't like things being to close to me with a kunai… I take it as a threat to be exterminated."

After tentatively removing the kunai from the extended tongue, the Reed retracted her tongue into her mouth, "My apologies… but you see, you abruptly throwing a knife to terrify this poor hapless child, but nicking my hair in the process made me… insatiable at the sight of his blood…"

"Right…" Daisy sceptically said as the Reed walked back to her shady teammates, "Now, there is some formality before we begin," she reached into her trech coat inner breast pocket and pulled out a wad of paper, "these are consent forms for you all. You must sign them before entering the Forest."

"Why do we need those?" Tai asked, applying pressure to the wound on his cheek.

Daisy giggled like a little girl, "Well, there will be deaths on this one; no question. And I sure as hell don't want the heat for sending you to your deaths without evidence of your agreement. First I'll explain the aim of this test, and then you can sign these," she handed them to the candidate before her, who passed them out like fliers, "and hand them in at the check in station beside me, where the two T'rin are."

She watched as the fliers were fully handed out.

"Now, I'll explain the goal to you, and the terrain you'll be fighting for survival in." She reached into another pocket of the coat and pulled out a scroll she unfurled, revealing an overhead diagram of the Forest, "Around the fifty fourth training site, there are fifty four gates in this fence, each of which is being watched by a T'rin. There is a Forest, a large River channel that seperates into smaller streams and in the centre is your goal, a locked tower ten kilometres from every entrance. During the survival exam, you will use your weapons and techniques to effectively fight off attacks from the other candidates."

"What?" was the collective whimper of many.

"And your goal is to gather these two scrolls and get them to the tower. There is a Divine and a Mortal scroll," she presented said scrolls, the kanji of the words imprinted on the binding, "there are seventy two here; meaning twenty four teams, so twelve will receive one of the scrolls and the other twelve the other. To pass this exam, you must steal a scroll from another squad in the Forest and, without having it stolen from you, get to the tower within five days of my signal to enter, after which you'll be sealed inside. At most, if you don't break the rules and some scrolls become invalid, half of you will go through; meaning twelve teams at the most."

"Five days? What about food and water?" JP cried.

"Well, as I've said, the Forest is almost brimming with streams, and there are wild animals in there for you to use."

Kurata tapped the bridge of his glasses, "But she's omitting the fact that the wild animals are ravenous beasts, and there are man-eating insects and poisonous flora and fauna."

"Crap," JP, defeated, released, Mimi hitting him in the arm.

"Its survival for a reason, JP! Just keep it under control!" she hissed lowly.

Daisy smiled devilishly, "And one more thing. This is a test of the human Tamer, however, we have had cases where they have summoned and relied on their partner. Forget about that; after consulting with the Senksha and planning committee, we have decreed that if you hand in your paper, you will be placed under a special seal that will prevent summoning more than once in the Forest, and will send your partner back within ten minutes of summoning. Do not waste it. Now, onto the disqualification rules…"

Everyone gulped as she raised her finger for number one, "If you fail to get to the tower with two scrolls that are different, you will fail," she raised another, "if your mate dies in the process of the test, you will fail due to the three man cell rule," and number three, "if you look in the scroll, you will be disqualified, as this is not only a test of your strength and survival instinct, but of your integrity on missions with secret information being transported."

Tai inquired, "What if it opens by accident?"

"Believe me, young man. You open it, you will find only failure and pain for your petty integrity. Oh, and number four, if you find it too hard, you will be stuck in for the five days regardless. Now that that is finished, exchange all of your squad's forms to receive a scroll and accept the seal, and pick a gate. The test will be starting in one hour, so choose wisely."

…

Matt watched as the T'rin pulled a curtain around the three openly exposed areas of the kiosk desk as teams began entering and exiting, _So that's the catch… we don't know who has what scroll, or which team member carries it. Kaname was right, information is a weapon that can get you killed; that's the risk to the one carrying the scroll._

oOo

Davis howled like a wolf with a wide smirk on his face, "The chance is finally here! Mikoto, be strong, alright?"

Mikoto pulled her hands to her face while Izzy retained his silence.

They were at gate number sixteen.

oOo

Mimi sweatdropped as JP moped at their gate, Joe grinning for once, a glint of ambition beaming through the lenses of his glasses, _I'll show Tai the Happy Moron Brigade's power; he'll regret saying it!_

They were at gate number twenty seven.

oOo

Tai was tense, but voiced his thoughts to Sora's dismay, "I won't lose to these bastards! I'll beat them all, just like I said! I stick to my word!"

Squad Seven was at gate number twelve.

oOo

Demonically grinning and chortling darkly, the Sound Tamers were gathered together, the bandaged leader whispering, "Now the time for our true mission to commence; you know who we're after!"

They were at gate number twenty.

oOo

Kurata cheered his two veil faced associates, "We'll get through this, we have to in order to commence our task."

His team was at gate number thirty eight.

oOo

Keenan and his partners stood rather scarcely apart, as if too devoid of attachment to get closer.

Daiyo sweatdropped with his false mask of complacency, _Of all the problems presented this time around, I get stuck with Keenan for five days and nights… oh… I feel bad for the guy that pisses him off first… I sure as hell know it won't be me or Tsuki._

They were at gate number six.

oOo

The mysterious Reed Tamers were huddled close together, ready to charge with devil like smiles on their faces, the leader (the one who held up Daisy) spoke in a natural hissing tone, "You know the one we came here to get; spread out and find him, and kill any who get in your way."

They were at gate number fifteen.

oOo

Thomas, Marcus and Yoshi huddled around their gate, Marcus burning with passion and energy as his fist trembled in preparation, _Spencer-sensei, I will make sure everyone knows of Marcus Damon after this test is finished!_

They were at gate number forty one.

oOo

Every instructor unlocked the various chains and locking seals placed on the gates one by one, holding the hand in preparation for launching them open as they look at stopwatches they held in their other hands. When the time got to 4:36:23, exactly thirty minutes after the last team had handed in their forms, they opened the gates, allowing the squads to enter from all of the gates at once with the rally for "GO!".

Every team moved so hastily that they phased out in the trees, jumping on the ample number of branches for travelling, the three Reed Tamers having a voracious look in their eyes, "REMEMBER THE THREE WE WANT!" the leader called.

"Those three brats!" the other two said, chortling as they leapt from branch to branch.

…

Three black suited and masked Earth Tamers stopped on their current branch, and focusing through the brambles and branches to see Davis, Mikoto and Izzy standing still, conversing aloud.

"So, everybody is going to the tower, right? Why not place traps there and wait for the successful ones?" Davis articulated, proving he had a brain beneath his fur hood and hot rod jacket.

Davis's acute ears picked up on a creak in a distant branch.

"They're here…" he whispered to his two teammates, who kept up the façade of being loud, easy targets.

"Hehe, brats… they've sensed us, but they're out in the open; time to swoop in-!" the leader began before abruptly stopping, his face falling into a navy blue as his neck area bulged, a strange slimy insect crawling up, biting in and sucking on his blood.

His partners were terrified, "A leech, but when… where?" they froze and looked up; an entire small platoon of the blood suckers were hanging from the tree limb above their heads, dropping fully onto them and chomping in, sucking their blood as the two fell, one pulling the leader with him desperately as they hit the ground hard.

The ground launched back up in the trap Davis's team had set up, and the net caught them as their Mortal scroll fell to the ground beneath them, while the leeches began to really threaten their lives in the net before Izzy skilfully pulled out several kunai and shuriken, hitting the insects in their vital areas and killing them instantaneously as the three in the net passed out.

Davis snickered, "Leeches sense life by the sound they make leaping through the trees, and make setting a trap easy. That is one team down. And look, a Mortal scroll to match our beautiful Divine scroll!"

oOo

The scream that one of the team members gave as they were lifted into the net echoed out one mile, and into the ears of Daisy, who stood at gate number one with a smile on her face, "It's begun…"

oOo

Tai stopped walking and walked over to a bush nearby, Sora and Matt watching in confusion as he slowly said, "Gotta leak, give me a minute."

Sora flushed and began a furious charge toward him, hitting him in the back of the head, "I'm a girl, I don't need to see that!" she roared, _But would I stop Matt if he…?_

Several minutes later, Tai returned from behind the bushes and trees, a goofy grin on his face, "Man, so much came out! I was like a fountain!" he laughed haughtily.

Sora flushed again, "I said I don't need to know!"

Matt arched his brows and sauntered over to the two, standing in front of Sora and looking Tai in the face, which he cheekily grinned to, Matt giving a firm back hand punch to his cheek, drawing a lot of blood as he skidded on the ground and rolled to regain his stance against a tree as Matt phased in beside him, kicking off the tree in a leg swipe at his head, to which he backtracked and leapt up into a tree, where Matt beat him to and kicked him down with a thud.

"Matt, it wasn't that bad…" Sora meekly argued.

Tai rubbed his bloody mouth, "Sora, stay back! I think he's lost his mind!"

Matt's eyes flickered with rage, "Sure, whatever," he said sternly as he reached into his pouch, pulling out a kunai in a reverse grip, "now, where is the real Tai? What did you do?"

Tai's face flashed in a gasp to which he composed himself, "What… are you talking about?"

"Why is it that your cut is magically gone? Is it because you weren't watching when Tai got cut on the cheek? Or your pouch, and how it's on the right hand side of your hips instead of your left; a sign that your left handed, whereas Tai is right handed."

Sora scanned him, and realized Matt was right.

'Tai' chortled as he stood, "So you saw through…"

Matt sneered, "You're horrific at transformation, way worse than Tai!"

Smoke burst from the false Tai, and as it cleared revealed a Waterfall Tamer, wearing the oxygen mask in addition to his vest and shirt, in addition to his black pants and black sandals, "Well, that won't stop me. Give me your scroll, and you might just get away from this with your legs intact. Which of you has it? That moron of yours sure didn't when I left him to the beasts."

The Waterfall Tamer charged, drawing a reverse grip kunai in his left hand, Matt clapping into a Tiger seal, breathing deep, "_Fire Form, Phoenix Arising Cinder!_" he spat a constant series of fire pellets, in his unique blue ethereal form, but the Waterfall was skilled and fast, sidestepping them and clashing kunai with Matt as he leapt up into a tree, the blonde noticing Tai tied up in a rope, chiding as he threw the kunai and split the rope, releasing him as he landed on the bark of the tree limb.

Matt backflipped and rode the tree limb in a flip as several kunai planted into the tree's bark, noticing an explosive note half lit as he got to halfway in his rotation on the limb, letting go toward the ground, the explosion making him crash into a large root, winding him as he got to a knee again, the Waterfall phasing in behind him.

"Give me the scroll and I'll leave, but you move and your dead!" he proclaimed as his left handed reverse grip kunai was held at the injured blonde's throat.

A kunai sped through the air and planted itself where the Waterfall once stood before he leapt back high into the air with a chikara boosted jump, Tai on the tree where it came from, "Quick bastard…"

Matt coughed droplets of blood as he shot up, _About time, Tai! Now, focus the chikara at the precise point on my foot, _he swung his foot to the kunai behind him, his chikara clinging it to his sandal as he twisted and threw the kunai at the Waterfall Tamer with a kick, leaping with a boosted jump as the Waterfall spun in mid-air to avoid the knife, slowing himself down and finding the blonde in his face, Surugan activated and plunging a knife into his chest, kicking him away.

The Waterfall grunted as he landed on a large tree root and leapt through the trees in retreat, Matt landing and watching after him carefully, _He retreated… so he was alone… but that was far too close for comfort._ He thought as he deactivated the Surugan, his teammates gathering together to rethink their strategy.

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_Next time, on Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles!_

_Tai here, and I've gotta say, this T'rin Exam is really a challenge, even for me! We were worn down so bad by that Waterfall-… oh no!_

_What's that freak with the tongue doing here?_

xxx

**A/N: **My favourite part is about to be reached; the Curse Mark, the battle in the Forest and Sora's blossoming! (I'm not too sure she has the hair for it, so I'll think of something…)

Anyway, drop a review, as it makes this writers time feel well spent!


	12. Episode Twelve

**A/N: **Time to translate one of my favourite Naruto fights into this with Matt, with a few minor changes and an elongated battle.

Let's begin chapter twelve, shall we?

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twelve: A Terror in Human Form! Matt's Fear!**_

…

_K'rin Reference Book_

_Mimi Tachikawa_

_Age: 11_

_Family Unit: Father and Mother_

_O'rin Sensei: Harima Shinjin_

_Missions Completed: 13 D Rank, 0 C Rank, 0 B Rank, 0 A Rank (S Rank N/A)_

_Conclusions: Female member of Squad Ten is regarded as arguably the best female graduate this year, having high grades and finishing with powerful regard in Tekina classes. Attitude and self-indulgence in desire to love Yamato Ishida has caused… problems in the past. Formidable if motivated._

…

"Alright, that settles the point," Matt panted as he rubbed his still sore shoulder, Squad Seven gathered in a small, seated circle, "if that Waterfall Tamer could do it, it is highly likely we'll be ambushed eventually, so we need a password."

"Password?" Tai repeated.

"Yeah… and I think I have just the thing. The question we'll ask each other if separated for a while is 'When is a battle ready to be fought?', and the one being tested should say, 'A battle is ripe for fighting in the stillness of the night, every Tamer knows this to be right. When the powers of Tamer and Digimon are coiled, the battle is ready to embroil. Only when these powers are harmonious, can the fruits of the fight be glorious'. Got it? Because if you get the question wrong, you'll be considered the enemy, no matter what you do to stop us."

Tai squinted, finding it hard to comprehend all of the longer words, but said, "Yeah, got it," with a sweat bead at his temple.

"Of course," Sora instantly acknowledged.

Matt stood up, "All right, I'll handle the scroll for now."

Sora and Tai stood as well, the wild haired boy attempting to contradict Matt, "No, I can handle-!" he stopped as a sudden sting hit his cheek, feeling at it and finding a light cut. Looking toward the direction it originated from, the three heard a whistling sound, getting louder.

"What now?" Matt snarled, entering a pre-battle stance.

The louder it got, the more they heard additional sounds; bark creaking, wood cracking and rustling leaves until finally it came to them, a distorted air stream that cut at them like several knives, Sora and Matt leaping aside from the blast of air, Tai being dragged back by the blast and out of sight.

A large dust cloud rose from the Deathly Forest and showed the path of the wind that devastated the emergent trees. The bent in the earth was like a true small trench, Matt noting it from his hiding spot beneath the brambles just next to the air stream's path, Sora hidden up in a tree, crouched between a tree limb and the thick bark.

oOo

At the beginning of the air stream, nearly a full kilometre away, the strange woman who had nearly killed Daisy in a standoff before the second test had her hands clasped in the Seal of the Bird, her two partners stood a safe distance behind as she rallied, "Fan out and see if you can find something to entertain you… I'll do this myself."

oOo

Matt slowly pulled out of the brambles, his kunai clasped dearly as he looked around. Hearing a stomp like sound, he turned to find Sora running toward him after jumping down from the tree.

"Wait!" he shouted, raising the kunai threateningly, "the answer to 'When is a battle ready to be fought', what is it, Sora?"

She staggered for a second after he raised the blade, but regained herself, "A battle is ripe for fighting in the stillness of the night, every Tamer knows this to be right. When the powers of Tamer and Digimon are coiled, the battle is ready to embroil. Only when these powers are harmonious, can the fruits of the fight be glorious!" she recited, the blonde lowering the blade in trust as she came closer.

The brambles near them rustled, Tai walking out, clutching his head as it pounded in pain, "H-hey guys…" he grumbled before Matt pulled up the knife and asked the same of him, "Oh, right! A battle is ripe for fighting in the stillness of the night, every Tamer knows this to be right. When the powers of Tamer and Digimon are coiled, the battle is ready to embroil. Only when these powers are harmonious, can the fruits of the fight be glorious!"

Sora sighed in relief as Tai answered correctly, abruptly gasping as Matt threw a kunai at Tai, who dodged by jumping to the sighed, a shocked expression on his face.

"Matt, what's wrong?" Sora screeched.

The blonde chided, "So this stand in is good enough to sidestep my attacks…"

"What… what are you talking about?"

Looking Tai up and down, the blonde noticed everything was perfect this time; the scratch, the leg holster, the pouch, and yet he knew it to be a façade, "Look at him, he's good enough to have mimicked Tai's appearance perfectly, yet he apparently doesn't know. Sora, do you really think THAT Tai could remember the entire phrase in perfect time without pauses?"

Sora thought on it, "Actually… that's a good point, he didn't look like he heard it all anyway!"

"Impressive…" 'Tai' hissed as he got to his feet before bursting into a cloud of smoke. Once the plume had billowed and dissipated, it revealed the Reed Tamer from before, her tongue sticking out like a rasping, coiled python, "if he was so dim-witted that he wouldn't remember it, why make that phrase up? Would you have attacked him as well?"

Matt half smirked and gave a brief chuckle, "Tai's the stupidest contender in this Exam, so I figured that if anyone could forget it, regardless of all the memory tests and intellect we're taught to remember information in the school, it'd be him. Everyone else who might listen in like you; perfect recital. Him failing was the way I knew it'd be him."

"I see… a bumbling, boisterous fool… that makes sense." The Reed rasped like a snake once more, "Neither tired nor ill prepared… an impressive feat, in such bemusing and tiring conditions."

oOo

The air blast had completely caught and taken Tai away around half a kilometre away before he collided into a stern, tightly rooted tree that did not give way, winding him.

Laying on one of the large exposed roots, he turned over, hitting his back with his backwardly extended fist and hitting between the shoulder blades, causing him to cough up the air bubble trapped in his throat.

As he got to a knee and looked up, the sun was blocked by a large creature, quarter the size of the amazingly tall trees, and easily twenty times bigger than Tai. As his eyes refocused, he made out the shape and tongue as being a giant snake, who rasped and went for a bite at him, the Tamer jumping aside as its gargantuan jaws latched onto the root and snapped it like a twiglet, its slits following Tai and twirling its tai around him, coiling tighter and tighter as it went for another bite.

Tai's hands were free, and as he saw seconds before the snake ingested him, he assumed the clone seal of his, "_Shadow… B-Body Splitting…_" he weakly said, his air leaving him, but six clones appearing on the tail, all of them leaping at the serpent and punching it in its jaw, the creature releasing Tai from its giant tail as it swiped away the clones like insects as they burst into smoke.

Tai landed hard on the ground, gasping for air as precious seconds ticked away. Noticing the beast of a snake was looking at him, reeling its head back for a jab attack, he performed the seals, knowing he had no other choice.

"_Summoning Technique!_" he gambled on his one allowance for ten minutes, the smoke bursting out as the snake retracted, measuring up the threat. When the smoke disappeared, Agumon was stood there with Tai, who still gasped for air, "You'll be sent back in ten minutes, buddy… but, well, I need some help. I thought this would be a good chance to display our ability."

"Yeah!" Agumon complied, Tai's Digivice burning with energy as it glowed golden, Agumon also lighting up and changing shape into a ten foot tall dinosaur that nearly matched the size of the serpent, Greymon, "Tai, get on my head so we can do this!"

Tai, using chikara, leapt onto the dinosaur's head obligatorily as the snake went to bite Greymon, only to have its head caught in his arms, and with great effort, tossed to the side into a tree. Tai assumed three hand seals, Ram, Monkey and Tiger, _Okay, now just watch how Greymon releases it, and follow his lead… it's too bad I can't do this on my own yet._

Greymon's mouth brimmed with smouldering flames, the dinosaur (being conscious of Tai on his head) fired his powerful fire pellet, 'Nova Blast'.

Tai, breathing deep, blew toward Greymon's blast nexus, "_Fire Form, Nova Blast!_" he mimicked with the power of the Digivice, his fire ball not impressive but large as it conjoined with Greymon's blast, intensifying the heat as it hit the serpent, the creature quickly screaming with a hiss as it broke apart into data and flew off into the sky, the team stopping their attack, the dinosaur returning to Rookie as Tai leapt off and landed on the ground.

"Tai, are you okay?" The small reptilian Digimon asked worriedly, "That was a Hebimon, a dangerous Digimon for humans to be near!"

Tai gave him a cheeky, sweatdropping smirk as he gasped for air, "Yeah, just haven't gotten used to it… I can't wait till I can do it on my own; it's effective, but I can only do it if you're here right now…"

Tai grunted as he looked one eye open at the black marking that had suddenly appeared on his right wrist. Slowly working its way up, it landed squarely on Tai's chest, burning itself in as a diamond shape chain with a small yin-yang in the centre.

"So this is the thing that stops you after you summon… well, guess I'm on my own; you'll probably be gone in a few seconds because you Digivolved and used too much energy. You still haven't gotten the hang off that form, so take it easy until the Exam is done, all right?"

Agumon nodded, "I'll tell Biyomon and Gabumon to be ready as well! Tai, if you ever need me again, summon me, if you get the chance again." He gave the boy a pat on the shoulder before turning to smoke, returning to where he was before.

Tai, getting to his feet, followed the track made by the wind blast through the forest to get to where he was before, _Alright, my one chance at calling Agumon is gone and I can't use the Nova Blast again… but still, I've got to help those two, they could be in danger!_

He wasn't wrong.

oOo

Matt sneered at the Reed while she leered back with a dirt ridden smile from a few metres away, Sora being the silent go between, _This woman… when she does that with her tongue, I have to wonder if she's human…_

"You two," the Reed began, "want my Mortal scroll, to go against your Divine scroll so you can go on, right?" she gave a snide snicker, flashing them a sight of the scroll before putting it securely in her pouch, "Well, come and take it. This is a fight to the finish, after all…"

Sora snorted, "As if anyone would follow that 'to the finish' part."

The Reed chortled evilly, "Oh, silly little girl. By the end of this, one of us will have both scrolls, while the other," she tapped her Reed headband, slowly pulling her hand down to cover her eyes, the two K'rin focusing on her hand. Suddenly moving it down, her eyes pierced them, "…will be a broken, bloodied heap of a carcass."

Her eyes radiated bloodlust to the pair, Sora and Matt, both flinching as they felt a cinder block like effect by the pain in their heads, the pair seeing kunai in their peripheral vision, struck into their foreheads, blood splattered everywhere beneath them.

Matt's eyes dilated as the kunai vanished from his head with the blood, to find he was on his knees, unable to move because of the incessant trembling, Sora hunched over beside him, _Damn it… we're enticed in a terror inducing Seiina! I should have known, the eyes are used for it, after all! I… can't move… her bloodlust is almost palpable, even without the Seiina…_

He looked across shakily to Sora, who was on her knees and hands, tears sapping from her eyes in torrents and her nose leaking slightly, her face paled due to the sensation of the Seiina used. Her frame rocked unstoppably and she had shrunken into herself, her eyes and face blank.

Matt chided anxiously, _No good… she's been affected worse than me, and I can't even move my legs! How can I get her out of here if I don't move… I can't die here… I CAN'T DIE HERE!_

"So, you cannot move any longer," the Reed Tamer chortled as she reached into her pouch, removing two kunai to make Matt's hallucination real.

Matt, still trembling, managed to pull out a kunai while still under the strain of the Seiina, _C'mon… you can't die here, just move!_

The Reed flamboyantly threw the two kunai upwards with one hand, each heading toward one of the two K'rin. Matt's Surugan activated suddenly, seconds prior to impact, breaking the Seiina spell and allowing him movement, which he used to clasp Sora in a hugging hold as he used chikara jumps to flee through the tall trees.

The Reed Tamer, completely unbiased to the escape, sauntered over to where the kunai should have struck the two, not the root metres back. She found a blood smear on the earth and understood, "To injure himself to disrupt the sensation of fear… this is no normal prey after all… just as I would expect of an acquaintance to that man…"

…

Matt stopped around thirty metres in the air on a large tree limb big enough to fit a house on, putting Sora down, the pale girl slowly regaining complexion and colour in her eyes as she saw what Matt had done to his leg as he yanked the kunai out of his thigh, falling back against the tree bark.

"Matt, are you okay-!" the auburn haired girl squealed before Matt placed his hand atop her mouth, scanning the area for any sign of movement, the girl becoming a little despondent, _For Matt to be so nervous… even in the Land of Squalls, he was never like this…_

Sora squirmed as a shadow loomed over her head; a Hebimon was coiling for a head jab with its jaws, but Matt's grip on her mouth was tight, preventing her warning him until she bit down in his palm, catching his scowl, but making him notice the snake.

The Hebimon's head gyrated and juddered in position before launching its neck muscles and chomping tightly on the high up tree limb as the two K'rin jumped far with their boost, Matt getting hang time in mid-air while Sora landed on another high up tree limb, looking terrified as Hebimon retracted and jabbed upward toward Matt, slithering around the ancient bark of the tree as it went.

Matt, his Surugan activated, freaked as he realized he wouldn't land before it got to him, so he pulled out six shuriken into his finger arches and threw then into the Hebimon's cranium, "GET BACK!" he bellowed as it fell back onto the large tree limb with a thud, bursting into data while a shadow loomed where it had died; the Reed Tamer had travelled inside the serpent, Matt's fear returning and his legs losing strength, barely managing the landing on a small tree outcrop of a branch that he leant on, looking down into the eyes, his Surugan focused to catch the Seiina in motion and stop it this time as he sweatdropped from up high.

"You have the spine of a Otamamon, boy," the Reed angrily spat, before the natural calm, hissing came back into her voice, "but you have to obey the same principles; the prey must always be wary in the presence of its predator!"

She phased out almost, but Sora saw a faint trace of her quickly twirling up the bark toward Matt, who shook unstoppably as she got closer, her legs resembling a snakes tail by some strange transformation of alteration technique.

She was stopped as kunai and shuriken stuck in the bark right before her face, her eyes darting over disappointedly to the sight in the branch above Sora, Matt following her gaze to Tai also, "Sorry, I got caught up, not to mention I tried to remember that phrase for ten minutes."

"Tai!" Sora exclaimed happily at the sight of him.

Matt, on the other hand, sweatdropped even more, "Tai, don't be stupid! This woman's a monster! She'll annihilate you if you get on her bad side! Run!"

The Reed Tamer guffawed lightly and went into an all-out chortle as she looked across to Tai on the high branch, her legs definitely transformed, "To think one of my Hebimon were killed by you, Taichi. Oh yes, I know of you; I've researched all of you closely before coming here. Nothing you do can harm me, just to spare any embarrassment for your failure as you die."

Tai sneered at the snake tailed woman, her legs gone and her black pats conjoined into a makeshift tail… or it could be real, so he contemplated, _She definitely looks like a monster, and I've seen what she can do, when she snuck up on me and that insane woman. And by what she said, she sent that snake for me…_

Matt juddered on the branch he stood, leaping down onto a lower one with a thicker tree limb attached, allowing him walking space to mull over as he headed toward Tai, _What can we really do against this level of power…? The only we can survive this is to…_ he heaved as he de-activated the Surugan and reached into his pouch, pulling out the Divine scroll, "Take it, and let us walk away."

Tai felt a swelling, rising sensation in his stomach, "What did you say? Why are you giving our scroll to the enemy, you dumbass, blondie bastard?" he lashed out at him.

The Reed sat up in her half snake form, "Interesting… at times, sacrifices are made by prey in the animal kingdom to save themselves… very wise, but somewhat disappointing."

"Take it!" Matt roared as he tossed the scroll towards the woman, her arm extended for a catch before Tai swooped in and landed on the bark of the tree, leaping back up to the limb Matt stood on, "What are you doing, you bastard? You'll get us killed!" he bellowed vindictively.

Tai twisted on the heel he landed on and punched Matt solidly, sending the blonde back a few feet, blood on Tai's knuckles. Tai heaved heavily while Matt wiped his mouth in surprise on the bark of the tree limb he sat on.

Sora meekly input, "T-Tai… what are you…?"

Tai huffed as Matt got back to his feet, still wiping away blood on the arm bands he wore, "What was that for, you total moron?"

Tai snorted and entered a battle stance, "I forgot the phrase, but you're a fake, aren't you?"

"What are you-? I'm the real Matt!"

"No you're not. Unlike you, Matt has a pair. You're terrified like a frightened child of this Tamer," he shot a filthy glance at the still semi transformed, evilly grinning woman, "and you think giving them the scroll will get them to go away? Are you an idiot, Matt?"

A chuckling resounded as the Reed Tamer reformed her legs by unfurling her tail from the tree bark, her legs seemingly shaping out of the black tail into her pants and black sandals, "You know the great thing for me, Taichi Kamiya? You are correct! I can kill you all now and save myself the bother of negotiating."

Biting her thumb and bleeding it, she performed a series of seals; Boar, the hand seal performed by placing the knuckles together in an upside down gesture, Dog, performed by placing a palm and extended fingers atop a closed fist, Bird, Monkey and Ram, summoning a torrent of smoke.

"_Summoning Technique!_" she boomed, the smoke clearing to reveal she had summoned the brown coloured Ultimate snake Digimon, Paisonmon, a large python Digimon that was easily double the size of Hebimon, the Reed Tamer looking minute atop its head.

Sora blanched and turned pale, as a revelation came with this move, _She said that she sent one of the snakes after Tai, and then there was the one Matt killed… she's summoning lots of Digimon, not a single partner! How is this possible? What's worse, she's defying that seal we were all given, and they were given by T'rin! She isn't a K'rin, far from it! She managed to break that seal!_

Tai gave a warcry as he charged, knowing Agumon was a no-go for his _Nova Blast _to be used. Leaping in the air, he clenched a fist and coiled it tightly as he came down to Paisonmon's head, aiming for the woman, _If I could just hit her!_

"Tai you idiot, run!" Matt beseeched, frozen to the tree limb he stood on high in the air.

Tai squinted as he heard this, getting closer to Paisonmon, _Coward… you've lost my respect, Matt!_

Paisonmon responded to the approaching big haired child by swiping him upwards with his coiled tail, sending him hard into the bottom of a tree limb above, blood literally coming out inordinately through his mouth as he began to fell, the cries Sora gave falling on deaf ears as Paisonmon was given permission to digest Tai as he fell.

Matt was still terrified, but he could hear his pulsing heart rate as Tai came closer to the mouth of the snake.

"SCREW YOU!" Tai bellowed venomously as he conducted a series of frontal flips in the air, sending an axe kick hard into the face of the snake, Paisonmon retracting and sending Tai flying with hangtime in the air toward the tree behind him.

Confused, the Reed Tamer focused on the inexplicably rejuvenated boy, noticing blood red eyes with slits, and a sudden sensation of bloodlust comparable to her own, although it did not rock her, "It… can't be… that power, it's…!" she felt a crass, inelegant smile form on her face as Tai flipped and kicked off the tree back toward Paisonmon.

oOo

Daisy was astounded; preparing to move on her own to the tower in the Deathly Forest, she was stopped by two T'rin, claiming that after they let their candidates in, they had found dead bodies. But the human bodies were desecrated in an immoral way.

"W-what happened to their faces?" she spluttered.

One T'rin calmly replied, "They've been carefully removed, and by the limited blood splatter, the ones who took them were most likely powerful forbidden technique users. I've never seen anything like it."

Daisy sweatdropped, "Alright, give me the foreign registry photos! I want to know what these three used to look like!" she barked as the T'rin handed her three photos, one catching her eye especially, _What? This is the one that gave me the kunai back before the Exam started… was she dead already by that point?_

She then understood everything, and the terror on her face proved it.

"You two, get moving! Tell Lord Senksha what has happened, and while you're gone, get DATS to send a combat unit to the Deathly Forest! Meanwhile, I'll head in and try to find them, now go!"

"Right!" the pair voiced off, phasing out as they leapt off to the two destinations; the DATS headquarters and the Senksha residence.

Once they were gone, Daisy tapped the back of her neck at the neck as a pulse went through it, _I felt strange this morning… the brand gave me shudders, but to think he's actually come to the Terra Village…_

oOo

Tai unleashed a punching volley on the nose and face of Paisonmon, hissing and rasping in pain while the Reed Tamer chuckled in delight, Paisonmon noticing a small window and rolling his extended tongue against Tai sending him into the air, a roar given off as his mind slipped into what Kudamon referred to after the Land of Squalls as 'Lucifermon's Devil Trigger', his rage becoming a fuel for the fire deep down.

Sora was shocked and felt a bead fall down her face, "He's lost it… he's howling like some kind of animal… but his power, it's gone up so much!"

As Tai had hangtime during his roar in mid-air, the Reed pulled her hand palm up before her mouth, breathing in slightly, "_Fire Form, Dust Ignition!_" she blew out, the fire ball given off a dark red colour, hitting Tai completely, forcing him to fall down through two branches before one of the thick tree limbs took his weight, winding him.

The Reed Tamer looked down at him from Paisonmon's head, "That fire in his eyes and the surging power and chikara level… there's no mistaking it!" she snickered darkly, _Things have gotten very interesting indeed! _She relaxed her wrist and set it down as Paisonmon moved according to her will, "Now, your next, Yamato! What is your move?"

Paisonmon began to head directly toward the branch Matt was frozen in place on, fangs revealed as it went to eat.

"Matt!" Sora cried, incapable of moving from where she stood on a nearby tree.

The snake abruptly stopped, its mouth forced closed as Tai punched it before landing on the branch, pulling two kunai out in duel reverse grips and planting them in Paisonmon's nose, stopping it with Lucifermon's strength in addition to his own.

"Hey… you're not hurt are you," Tai lowly grumbled from the strain of keeping the hulking snake back, raising his head to Matt before him, "little girl?"

Matt was astounded as he caught sight of the beastly, blood lusting eyes Tai had now got, and all of the strength he had suddenly accumulated. Sora stared on haplessly at Tai, and the Reed was silent for the most part, an evil grin on her face.

_-Are you alright, little girl?_

Matt was amazed that Tai recalled that one tiny insult, "Tai… you…"

Tai was taken from his post holding back the great serpent Digimon by the woman extending her tongue, wrapping it around both his arms and pulling him up by them toward her as the snake pulled back.

Dangling before her, shaking furiously in the grip of her tongue, the woman quickly wove a sequence of hand signs to quick to perceive before cricking her fingers out and bending the joint, her tips glowing a dark purple with the kanji lit up in the following order from the thumb to the little finger; ENERGY, CHIKARA, SANCTION, FORMULA and SEALING.

She held back the technique illuminated fingers for a second, staring into Tai's eyes, "I see. When your spite and wrath is great enough, some of the Demon Digimon's energy is tapped and released like this," she adjusted the extended tongue to pull his jacket up slightly, revealing a octagon like diagram made of several sacred words in kanji, an affixed in the centre with a swirl pattern, "the mark that keeps him locked within has appeared on your skin! What an interesting childhood you must have had. Now… _Hexagonal Seal!_"

Plunging her finger tips into five corners of the eight sided seal, Tai yelped in pain as his energy suddenly drained from his body. When her fingers were removed from where she struck him, six tomoe pin swirl symbols appeared around the original marking. Tai's red eyes flickered before returning to their original brown shade, the boy passing out in the grip of the woman's tongue and going limp as Sora looked on, mortified while Matt remained frozen.

She snickered with her tongue still extended, _For eleven years he has been missing after returning after centuries of silence, and now the boy is beginning to wade through the seal and tap into his power… soon they will be as one, and his resurrection will begin. But for now, the brat is in my way._

After reaching into his pouch and pulling out the Divine scroll he got from Matt during the tussle, she continued her path of destruction by tossing Tai aside like a ragdoll, the unconscious boy collided with the trunk of the tree nearby, going into free fall before Sora grabbed her kunai and threw it at his jacket, sticking it to the bark and holding firm, Tai hanging by the kunai and his jacket.

Matt was still stuck in the same place, focusing on his heartbeat.

"Matt!" Sora had had enough of his fear, shouting from the other tree to him, her voice on the verge of cracking and eyes watering, "Say what you like about Tai; that he's a burden, an inconvenience but at least… he's doing something! At least he's no coward!" her voice cracked, "Matt…"

Surprisingly, Matt took a deep breath, performed the seals and called, "_Summoning Technique!_"

Gabumon appeared from a cloud of smoke, silent as ever, beside Matt as he went within himself and pondered his next move. In his mind, memories of his enemy came to mind.

_-Foolishness… you can't stop me, Yamato. You can't hope to defeat me as you are now you piteous creature. Run! Run away and live on in shame, knowing I took TK because of your spineless nature, boy._

"No!" Matt barked to himself aloud, his eyes changing into the Surugan and his face stuck in a sneer at the woman. His Digivice began beeping and glowing, just like Tai's and sure enough, Gabumon felt the strange sensation as his form changed into a blue and white furred wolf called Garurumon.

Howling and growling at the woman atop Paisonmon, who giggled incessantly, "Now things are getting good!" she beckoned as she assumed the seal of the Tiger, smoke rising as the Paisonmon was dismissed, the Reed leaping out of the cloud and onto the thick tree limb behind her, facing the motivated Matt as he drew out a kunai and placed it in his teeth.

After placing it in his teeth, the blonde perform the sequence; Bird, Tiger, Horse, Tiger, Ram and Dog, tapping Garurumon, _Can you hear me, Garurumon?_

_Loud and clear, Matt, _the wolf confusedly said through their minds that were somehow linked, _but why can I?_

_It's a technique I practised on my training days for when my Surugan awakened; Satsuma taught me the basics. I've linked our consciousness through these eyes of mine, using an old power of it, _He smirked through the kunai he held in his teeth, _but I'll explain it a lot more later on, right now, we have to take this one down; if I can't face a demon like this, I can't hope to fulfil my ambition! Now, Garurumon, communicate through thoughts and follow my lead, we only have a few minutes! _

The Reed was fascinated by this sudden upheaval in the dreary situation, "So, he used the power of those Surugan to its fullest; linking his mind with his partner's while in battle and still being able to move… I think I'll play with him a little and get a taste of his powers," she rasped, entering a hunched over battle stance.

Matt charged head on across the tree limb that ran beneath the one the Reed Tamer was stood upon, leaping high in the air with his chikara boost while Garurumon traversed the trees with his naturally astounding speed and prowess, going for a pincer attack as Matt twirled in the air, throwing his kunai toward the woman, who easily dodged it and the accompanying three as they came, noticing Matt kicking off the tree itself and heading toward her with great speed, planting a kick into her arm and lunging overhead with a flip, landing on the limb as Garurumon came around next to him, firing his more powerful attack of icy fire, the 'Howling Blaster' at the snake practitioner, who leapt into the air above them, tapping the bark before vanishing with such great speed, leaving a dust trail as Matt tailed her with his advanced vision Surugan, seeing as she twisted around the bark and around him and his partner.

_I can see… Garurumon, jump to the left! _Matt commanded in his mind, the wolf doing as he recommended, dodging the head on attack from above by the half transformed woman, both landing aside with Matt agreeing with the wolf's inward suggestion, weaving the seals, "_Fire Form, Evergloam Blaze!_" he spat the ball of fire in combination with the 'Howling Blaster', creating a small, blue inferno twister where the woman was, quickly dissipating as she shot out of the tree limb and swiped at Matt, both he and the wolf leaping back and assuming battle stances.

She was impressed, _Magnificent… even though I'm holding back on them, to be able to manage this… a linked consciousness, in addition to their instant teamwork makes this a challenge. But most of all, he sees my attacks and his aim is true… he can see my movements even at this level of speed I'm using…_

oOo

Daisy stopped her advance through the trees, riding a branch and rotating onto it with her feet, coat flapping behind her, looking up to the peach coloured sky, _It's nearly sundown… I have to hurry. My odds are tilted as it is, they'll only be worse in the dark of the night. But why is he here now? What is the thing that's brought him forward…? No matter… he's here, first things first._

oOo

The Reed growled as she cut down through the air, sending the same air wave as before toward the wolf and blonde, both of whom negotiated a way to avoid it in synch, leaping to the sides, Matt taking it a step further and planting his feet to the bottom of the tree limb above, latching on with chikara as the outcropping limb was blown apart, falling to the forest floor, at least fifty metres down.

Garurumon moved fast and furiously toward the woman, going for a slash with his sharp claws before bursting into smoke, disappearing.

Matt sweatdropped, preparing for a leap from the bottom of the tree limb, _He's gone already? Got to end this now!_

The blonde leapt with furious force down to the woman, grabbing her waist in a powerbomb type hold, pulling her on his trip downward to the next limb, twenty metres down. Tightly wrapping his feet around her neck, the two plunged into the limb, the bark cracking due to the Reed Tamer's skull crashing into it, Matt unaffected as he kicked off the body, which seemed stuck as it flopped while still in the pose it was planted in.

Matt focused and softened his stance as he watched the body, shocked as it burst into a pile of mud and dirt, "An Earth Clone!" he jeered as several kunai began flying toward him, almost hitting him before he backflipped off of the tree limb, pulling out thin metallic wires used for manipulating shuriken paths and placing it on a branch as he skidded the wires along it, riding the wires like a swing until he got to the next limb, looking back to see where the demon woman was.

She phased in before him, punching him with a right hook, a gut shot and an over the shoulder hunched elbow that repelled the boy to the bark of the limb with a thud as he remained motionless.

"Matt!" Sora cried out from her place in a nearby tree.

The woman stepped toward him with a hissing sigh, "What a disgrace you turned out to be… your ancestors are weeping at this pitiful heir to their sublime powers. They should thank me for killing you… you insignificant little worm." She rasped violently.

Matt's Surugan eyes flashed open for a second as three little pin on tools looking like earrings, pinned to the rope belt at her back, began to burn, exploding and catching her of guard as she fell to a knee, Matt taking the opportunity to frontal flip to his feet, leaping back with chikara boosted feet and throwing a multitude of shuriken at the demon, surrounding her with a fence of metallic stirng attached to the shuriken and Matt's hand and teeth as he pulled them to twist around the protruding limb on the tree limb behind her, tightening them around her and sealing the wires down by tying them to kunai he wrapped the string tightly around while keeping one string in his mouth, leading directly to her chest.

In the binding metal wires, she rasped in surprise, "This is an orchestrated move known only to Surugan users… the _Weaving Shuriken Circus Technique!_"

Matt clapped his hands and formed the following seals, Serpent, Dragon, Dog and transitioning to Tiger, breathing deep while holding onto the wire, "_Fire Form, Surging Dragon Bullet!_" he called, releasing a large amount of flame around him which then followed down the string all the way to the restrained demon woman, her cry of anguish loud as Sora smiled at the blonde's victory.

As the flames dissipated and Matt released the wire in his teeth to catch his breath, Sora ran across through the trees and across the tree limb to him, patting his back as he coughed from exhaustion, "It's okay now, Matt! You did it!"

She was wrong, as the woman still smouldered but broke through the charred, weakened wiring with her physical strength alone, clasping her hands into the seal of the Serpent, opening her eyes, part of her face melted off, revealing a pale complexion, purple face paint following the eye to the nose and yellow, serpentine eyes.

Matt and Sora pulsed in fear, their bodies incapable of moving again, Matt bemused, "What? Impossible…!"

"Such mastery of the Surugan at such an early time in life," her voice went into a more masculine sounding rasp, the previous voice a cover, and this one his real one, as his disguise was mostly reduced to cinders, "you are indeed a true heir after all… even Tsurugi is lacking that element your eyes possess, even if you do not recognize what I mean just yet."

Matt flinched at the name 'Tsurugi', and barked back, still frozen and paralyzed in place, "Who the hell are you? How do you know him; tell me!"

"My name is Bashiori… and if you ever want to see me again," he pulled the Divine scroll in front of him, the scroll catching alight with a green flame, turning to cinders in an instant as Sora and Matt struggled against their paralyzed state frivolously, "you must survive and pass this Exam, defeating my henchmen, the Sound Three that are in this Exam too, of course."

Sora snorted as she kept struggling, "Yeah, right! We hope to never see you again! If we ever meet again it'll be far too soon!"

Bashiori guffawed as he assumed an altered Tiger seal; the same used by Gomen for the _Asura Mirrors_ by wrapping his middle fingers around his index ones. Thrusting his wrist forward, a white snake shot out of it, heading at high speed up to the two and firmly planting its fangs in Matt's neck, retracting and letting the two puncture wounds from the fangs bleed a little as a strange mark appeared on the left side of the back of his neck, beside the nape. Matt howled in anguish as the marking shaped into a yin yang extending out into two curving marks outside it in black ink injected in him with a viral poison.

Sora, released from the technique by Bashiori, knelt down and tried to help Matt, failing and looking disgustedly down at the man with tear brimmed eyes, "You! What have you done?" she practically roared above Matt's loud screams of anguish as he slumped to the bark on his chest and face, twitching uncontrollably on the bark of the tree limb as Sora continued to try and soothe his pain.

Bashiori chortled darkly as the bark beneath him began to assimilate him into it, looking like he was entering a body of water, "I just gave him a parting gift, my dear. That Viral Brand of Friendship will activate in time, and he'll seek me out willingly to gain my power. Do see to him as he goes through the process, my dear." He chortled as he vanished into the tree, leaving Sora bemused and confused.

"What process?" she asked herself as Matt let out one more blood curdling scream before passing out before her, tears streaming down her face as she looked across to Tai, "Tai! Matt needs help… you need to… I can't…" she trembled, _What can I do…?_

oOo

Daisy leapt from tree to tree, coming to a sudden, shuddering halt at the feel behind her, sweatdropping with a smile without looking, "Bashiori… why is an S Class criminal around here? You do realize I have to kill you now, right… sensei?" she finished with spite on her tongue.

Bashiori, still partially in disguise, was partially assimilated into the tree, his face sticking out uside down with an evil grin on his face, "Impossible for you… you're still the weakling you were before."

Daisy thrust her palm downward, grabbing three kunai in her finger arches as she leapt awy, swivelling in mid-air before throwing the blades toward Bashiori, who shot his tongue out, grabbed all three by the hilt and tossed them aside before wrapping around Daisy's arm.

Landing on a branch, she called out, "_Slithering Shadow Snake!_" summoning a small snake that went from her sleeve and wrapped around his tongue, using the added grip to tear his out of the tree like a ragdoll toward her, tossing him into the bark of a tree and joining him, grabbing his hand, clasping it in hers and stabbing it with her kunai, flinching for a second after, "Now then, give me that!" she grabbed his other hand and readied a duel hand seal in the form of a punk rocker gesture.

"That seal! You wouldn't!" Bashiori hissed.

Daisy snidely smirked at him, "Sure is; I have to pay for when I served you too, y'know. _Mutual Serpentine Death Technique!_"

"I wouldn't, Daisy. That's an Earth Clone." Bashiori snickered behind her, the woman noticing that the one in front of her fell into a mud heap below her, chiding as she pulled the kunai out and thrashed out with it, throwing it into Bashiori's catching fingers, the man tossing it aside, "Poor, foolish little girl. I can tell how painful that was… after all, that Viral Brand of Sincerity I placed on you should feel like it's on fire."

As if on cue with his rasp, the brand on Daisy's neck in the form of a black ink, double layered teardrop glowed red for a second, sending shooting pain through her body.

"You know, I planted that very Viral Brand on a young boy not too long ago… his was in the form of the Friendship crest I have been researching. You know what that means; the power will infatuate him when he ditches those pathetic whelps of the Terra Village and comes to me, just as you did when your brand of Sincerity led you to a life of lying, leaving you nowhere, but me." He guffawed darkly as he removed the mask completely, his pale, pallid features disgraced by a venomous smirk he had, in addition to his purple face paint.

"You… scum…" Daisy weakly rebuked with a spit toward his feet.

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_I'm not too sure what happens next time… I just see blackness, like I'm drifting in an eternal dream… yet I hear something… Sora's whimpering cry… why is she crying…?_

xxx

**A/N: **That's a major part of the story done and dusted, see you next time!

Please review!


	13. Episode Thirteen

**A/N: **Chapter thirteen, lots of action, drama and suspense coming in this adrenaline fuelled chapter!

ENJOY!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Thirteen: Sora's Inner Warrior!**_

…

_The Royal Knights,_

_Digital Entities entrusted by an ancient entity to protect the Digital World from external threat. Every Knight has been alive as a Mega for centuries, some even more, and their only dropout is Kudamon, who was displeased with the way humans were being strong armed and killed to express superiority in the early days of their cohabitation in the Digital World, just before the Tamers arose to combat this sense of dissention between the two species and live in harmony._

_Twenty one years ago, Kudamon left the organization after learning of many Knights plans to thwart this harmony, and joined the Terra Village as a sign of respect and to use his reputation to attract many Digimon into becoming young partners. As penance for leaving, he was stripped of most of his power, and has long been unable of returning to the mighty Mega form that earned him the moniker of the 'Lancer of Ice'._

_The Knights exist in a secret location headquarters, and Kudamon made it a point not to reveal the location to avoid hostility. Rumour has it that while they are remaining quiet, they have been seen strategically around the Digital World, acting nefariously…_

…

"He'll never serve you… regardless of the Brand…" Daisy spat back weakly as Bashiori strolled across the tree limb to her and grabbed her roughly by her chin, looking sadistically into her eyes.

"Still can't forgive me for discarding you once you failed to mature the Brand, can you?" he laughed raspingly in her face before retracting, standing up before the hunched over Daisy.

"W-why else are you here… is to assassinate Lord Senksha?"

He waved his finger like a metronome, "No, no. I don't have quite the resources for that task yet. The old buzzard can expect a visit any time. Meanwhile, the boy I gave the Brand to is going through the injection process. Although the Virus introduced usually destroys humans, like you, he may survive."

Daisy retaliated with a dirt stained sneer, "You must really want this kid if you'd subject him to that…"

"Well, unlike you, he's talented, young and has the sublime taint in his Ishida blood that I desire… yes, he's the perfect vessel to be my successor." He walked away, raising an arm and assimilating in the bark as if it were water, "Daisy, as an old friend, will you ensure this Exam goes on? After all, if you deprive me of my fun by snitching to the old man, I may have to raze the village to the dirt."

Daisy panted as the searing pain from the teardrop mark on her neck began to cool, Bashiori taking the sensation with him as he entered the tree, vanishing.

oOo

Thomas, Marcus and Yoshi were gathered around a small vat like well of water, sitting and leaning against the roots of the large trees around them.

"Right, the other teams will be settling in a camp and setting their traps around now so they can rest. Since we've been fully rested, we should strike now," he explained while twirling a kunai in his right hand, "anyway, no matter what, you must return to this spot by dawn in thirty minutes; you hear me?"

He threw the kunai down and stood it in the earth to emphasise his point as the other two stood up.

"Got it," Yoshi acknowledged, leaping up in one direction.

"Roger," Marcus also exclaimed, leaping to another direction, Thomas going his own way as well.

oOo

Beneath the roots of one of the emergent trees, a small space between the base of the bark and the root that dug into the ground created a perfect hiding spot; on Sora had made full use of, Matt and Tai lying peacefully on the ground, before Matt began twitching in pain.

It was like a five minute cycle for the blonde, hours after Bashiori attacked, and the girl dutifully wringed his flannel that she had put on his head, drenching it with a small cup of water she brought to clean out the sweat.

Not just that, or Tai's inexplicable state of unconsciousness, or fearing attack by other Tamers, as she was by no means a warrior, but she had been feeling an offensive pressure emanating from the Brand on Matt's nape.

The girl knelt and put her palm on Matt's head as the cycle began again, _His temperature's rising rapidly, his eyes are squinting and he's sweating heavily… if this was a normal fever, I could have helped with the training I got in care for allies… then there's Tai, who can't wake up… I can't handle this on my own; I never could. But for now, I have no one to hide behind, it's on me now._

Her eyelids became heavy and her mind sleep deprived twenty minutes later, her head bobbing, alerting her as she shook, pumping some blood and adrenaline around her body.

Little did she know, lying in wait in the thistles and leaves of a nearby tree, the three Sound Tamers were awaiting their chance, the leader whispering, "As Lord Bashiori commanded, we sweep this team and kill the target, Yamato Ishida at daybreak. If the need arises, kill the other two."

"Oh, we will," the girl and the boy underlings concurred venomously.

At the breaking of dawn, the sun cascaded through the leaves, Sora's eyes becoming incapable of handling it, re-adjusting and becoming hazed for a second, instantly refocusing as she heard a rustle behind her.

Reaching into her pouch and pulling out a shakily held kunai, she peered back to the bush behind her, mentally bracing before finding only a small, primal rabbit based Digimon called a Terriermon stood there, staring blankly.

As it approached her, pacing its steps to counterbalance against its large ears that flailed behind it. Sora's face tightened, _Wait! _She recalled, throwing the kunai in front of the rabbit Digimon, scaring it back off into the brambles, _Too close… if that had come closer…_

Up in their hiding place, the Sound trio looked down depravedly, the spiky haired underling spitting quietly, "She's observant… she noticed the explosive note on the rabbit thing I caught."

The bandaged leader hummed in thought, "No… there was something else that made her do it."

The girl raised a brow, "What do you mean, Shindo?"

"We'll find out as we go," he lurched forward on the branch, "now, begin the operation."

oOo

Marcus leapt from tree branch to branch, flips and rotation abound as he went, not getting tired by the arduous, physically taxing exercise. He ground to a halt during one of his flips, twirling round and releasing so that he landed on his feet on the branch he reached for.

Looking tranced at several brittling leaves coming loose and falling with the wind, Marcus clasping his fist in acceptance, _Right, a test of speed and endurance as I dive down! I must grab all… thirteen leaves before they fall, otherwise I will do one hundred laps to work up my speed!_

Leaping down, he caught eight of them in a flicker of the eye, followed by catching a further four before colliding in the trunk of a misshapen new tree, the final leaf continuing to fall, "Twelve…?" he weakly guessed as he dived down, grabbing the final leaf before hearing a squealing noise, "What is that?"

A Terriermon was rolling on the floor near him, a fire on its back not going down as it rolled, Marcus lunging toward it, grabbing it and prying the lit explosive note from its back, crushing it in his bandage wrapped hand.

"Who would do something like this…?" he flashed with inspiration as he put the grateful looking rabbit Digimon down, "Wait, there's something I've always wanted to learn from your species, little buddy."

oOo

Thomas wandered through the brambles into a forest clearing, sensing life and hearing a low, restrained rustling to his left, "Come out here, I know you're there."

Mimi, JP and Joe froze in their hunched postures behind the bush, the pink haired girl rallying pitifully, "Shoot! How did he see us, we got in this spot so fast!"

Joe sighed nervously, "This is a big downer… now that he knows we're here, we're so dead."

"Be quiet, we still have Formation Beta, remember?"

JP chided and argued, "You can't be serious; against the most promising K'rin of last year, Thomas Norstien?"

"Hey, it'll work! I never fail to entice someone, so follow my lead!" she explained as the three walked out of the bush and into the frosty stare, goofy smiles on their faces, "I can't believe it, we're being held up by THE Thomas Norstien!"

The blonde sighed, "You guys…"

_That'll seal the deal!_ Mimi flounced and brushed her pink hair dramatically over her shoulder, some of the star stickers in her pink locks falling back to give her a goddess like glow, "You know, I've always wanted to get to know you a little better…" she giggled as girlishly as possible.

"Get lost," Thomas viciously stated as he twirled on his heel and began walking away, leaving Squad Ten in disarray over their luck.

Mimi, however, was affronted by his apparent dismissal of her well-kept looks and petit figure, shaking a fist at his back, "That jerk; who does he think he is, dismissing me like that?"

Thomas stopped in his tracks, not turning around, "Retract your fist, shorty. Or is it some manner of challenge against me?"

"N-no, of course not!" she blathered in response with a ditzy smile, _How the hell did this guy see what I did?_

"Then get lost!" he barked, his cold, ice like blue eyes clashing with theirs, "If I took the scroll from weaklings like you, my reputation and honour would go down the toilet!"

"ROGER THAT!" the three whistled as they leapt into the bushes and slipped away.

The blonde was befuddled beyond belief, "Honestly, how have they survived this long?"

…

Squad Ten panted after they had ceased fleeing with their tails between their legs, Mimi rising and thrusting a fist in the air, "Let's find us some weaklings!"

_We're the weakest ones here! _Joe thought passively as he and JP continued to pant heavily.

oOo

Sora's head bobbed once more, threatening sleep once more beneath the root encased stow away for her and her unconscious teammates, before another rustling was heard behind her. Drawing a kunai, she braced herself as the sound was at least three, and much bigger than a Terriermon.

Staying on her knees (still tired from Bashiori's assault), she turned on them to face the Sound Trio, all three menacing in their facial expressions as Shindo spoke up, "Well, I see you've had no rest. Now why don't you wake Yamato up, and you can have an eternal rest, my treat?"

Sora quivered, pulling her kunai shakily up from her side to her front, preparing to stand up, "WHAT HAVE YOU PEOPLE DONE TO HIM?" she roared, "WHAT HAS THIS BASHIORI GUY DONE TO HIM, AND WHY ONLY TO MATT? YOU WANT TO ATTACK HIM AFTER YOU PEOPLE GAVE HIM THAT WEIRD MARK ON HIS NECK?"

The three were stunned and taken aback by her knowledge of their leader, all three scowling as they entered bent over, pre-battle stances.

The spiky haired boy, Hanai, arrogantly incurred her fear, "Well, now that she's done, I guess I have no choice; she knows too much. I'll kill all of them to be sure."

Shindo, although also scowling and tightened in posture, articulated in his thoughts, _What is she on about…? Marks on the neck? It couldn't be, Lord Bashiori must have poisoned him._ His voice quickly outspoke his next line of thought, "You're not very good, at least in comparison to the loud fool and Yamato, are you? I can see the difference in texture in the moss atop this soil, the inadequate rock erosion signs, it all leads to one thing; a hastily concealed booby trap."

Hanai snorted, "Foolish girl."

The girl, Shiori, chortled as well, "So that's why she scared off the Terriermon; and to think I considered her observant for seeing the note on the rabbit thing, I bet she didn't see it at all!

Shindo, his one revealed feature, his left eye glazed with madness, tilted his head to a lopsided position, "Kill her now, and get the Ishida."

The Trio leapt forward, Sora snickering as she pulled her kunai behind her and sliced a thin wire behind her, setting in motion a backup trap, the three looking up in mid-air at the previously concealed and hoisted log falling toward them.

Unfortunately for her, Shindo chuffed at the chance, planting his right palm at the nexus of force on the log, and the split second for the force crushed him, he produced a powerful gust somehow that obliterated the log into splinters, the three continuing their voyage down to Sora as the bandaged man chortled, "How could a no account Tamer with no recognizable talent stand before us? You should've worked harder so as to not be this pitiful!"

Sora's eyes brimmed with water. He was right, she had no talent. She couldn't even manage to defend her friends when needed.

Lucky for her, Marcus leapt in before the still airbourne trio and spun around, Terriermon with him grasping and clinging as he spun around with the rabbit Digimon's technique, "_Terrier Tornado!_" he called as he delivered a powerful spinning kick to the three, repelling them back to the ground metres away as he landed also, assuming his battle stance after letting the Digimon down, running away from the carnage about to unfold.

Marcus sneered with a grin at the three, "Then you are worse than talentless; you're lost causes."

Sora wiped her eyes with her wrist as the older boy stood in front of her defensively in his stance, _He's that guy who called me his little sister…_

"Who in the hell are you?" Shindo vindictively asked as he and his mates rubbed their chins from the kick.

Marcus focused, his face wrinkling from anger, "Marcus Damon, the Ultimate Fighter of the Hidden Terra Village. Who are you three losers, picking on helpless little girls?"

"Why are you here?" Sora asked meekly, still incapable of standing very well.

Marcus's angered face remained, but was contradicted by a broad smile, "I always protect those who can't help themselves, I'm a defender. Also, you have the lucky bonus of looking a little like my beloved sister. But for now, rest easy; I WILL DEFEND YOU WITH MY LIFE."

The three weary Sound Tamers shifted dangerously into battle stances again.

Sora looked back at Tai and Matt, each afflicted for different reasons, and wiped a tear out of her eye with her dainty finger, looking back at Marcus, "Thank you… I can't express it enough…"

"You're a lot like Kristy, kind and forgiving, but secretly always wanting to help and be of use when friends are at risk. For that reason alone, I will protect you until I die." He oathed to her as he hunched over in his battle stance.

Shindo loosened his stance, surprisingly, going in his rear pouch and removing the Mortal scroll they had, tossing it back to Hanai with the simple proclamation, "He's mine, this shouldn't take me long."

Marcus shifted his eye to the direction Sora was over his shoulder, _This girl is in no condition to protect herself or the other two. Trying is honourable, but these three were going to pulverize her._

Shindo leapt up, revealing the strange equipment on his right arm as he came down, _This guy is supposed to be almost unrivalled among the rookies at Tekina; I get to have a lot of fun with this one before he dies!_

Marcus had a flash of inspiration, punching the ground and penetrating it to the roots of one of the large trees, pulling it out with the enhanced strength given by focusing his grand level of chikara. Shindo tapped the root before coming into contact with Marcus, the root turning into a splintered heap as he flipped back.

"What was with that monstrous strength just now?" the bandaged leader asked as he landed back on the ground.

Sora was aghast, in disbelief over what she had just seen, "H-he's so powerful…! There's no way these three can compare to that!"

Marcus let go of the wooden heap he had uprooted, "You think I forget easily? I saw what you did to that guy in the hall, and I know you have a trick of some kind behind you're attacks. So if I keep you at a distance, there is no threat from you."

Shindo snorted, "Isn't that going against the very principle of Tekina? You'll be at a disadvantage if you do that, you know."

Marcus sweatdropped, _Not exactly… but three on one is a definite disadvantage, so I'll have to use full power to end this quick. THAT ought to finish it quick._

oOo

"We're totally bottom of the heap," Mimi said, defeat in her voice after a frivolous search for weaker candidates than Squad Ten, "aren't we?"

Joe contradicted, "There's always Tai's Squad; we owe him for branding us the Happy Moron Brigade."

"He did what! Why that little moron!" Mimi chided angrily, "How dare that happy-go lucky idiot call us morons!"

JP munched away quietly on an energy bar in his hand, "Isn't that reversing what he said about us back on him, Mimi?" he simply put in between munching.

"Be quiet! I would love nothing more than to pay that little moron back, but as long as he's got Matt on his team, we can't go near them!" she grumbled as she chewed the end of her thumbnail.

Joe huffed rather than sighed, "Matt isn't as hot as he claims; he's probably as bad as Tai and Sora, so we still have a chance with our formation of attack."

"Hey! Matt is lightyears better than his two teammates! Tai and Sora drag him down, that's all!" she shifted her gaze to the side a little, "Especially the Jack O-Lantern…"

Joe sighed again in indifference, _What is her major malfunction? Whenever I say one bad thing about that stuck up blonde, she always loses her mind… ALWAYS._

JP heard a tussle not too far away. Standing up and walking over to a clearing in the tree line, he spotted several figures not too far off with his radical vision improved with Seiina training in the school, "Hey, Matt's down over there, and it looks like Sora's fighting on her own."

Mimi swivelled around and ran over to look with her exclamation of, "What?" noticing the figures, she grinded her teeth as she ordered JP and Joe to head closer, the three lunging through the bushes to the scene.

oOo

Thomas and Yoshi stood before the kunai marked meeting point for Team Spencer, both unable to find worthy candidates to steal from.

Yoshi had a considerately pure look of concern on her face, "Marcus sure is taking his time… do you think he's alright? Could he have waltzed into the enemy?"

Thomas shook his head dismissively, "No, I'd be more worried about the enemy than of him… Let's go find him, alright?"

Yoshi quickly nodded in agreement, and the pair phased out, heading into the trees to search together rather than split up.

As he was lunging from tree limb to branch and to limb again, Thomas wove a dazzlingly fast array of hand seals, ending on Ram, "_Shuhengan!_"

oOo

Marcus unfurled the bandages on his forearms slightly so that at least two foot of the heavy wrapping was hanging from what remained heavily wrapped on his wrist as he hunched over in recollection and preparation, _I know this is forbidden… but the conditions have been met, Spencer-sensei!_

_-Now listen and listen well, Marcus. This technique I taught you has just been declared as a forbidden technique. It places the body under a magnitude of pressure it simply isn't built to handle the great strain it places on the muscle fibres. A body naturally only uses at the most forty percent of its actual potential, so only use it if one condition is met._

_-What's that, sensei?_

_-You say you want to be the Ultimate Fighter to defend the weak, right? So this should be relatively obvious-_

_It must only be used to protect those who need defending, at any cost! _Marcus recalled, bent down in his pre-battle, frontal chop stance before pulling his hands tentatively together to form the only seals he could perform at all, slamming his palm into the dirt, "_Summoning Technique!_"

With a burst of smoke, a large headed, much more toned Agumon than Tai's appeared in the plume, red straps wrapped around its wrists and claws. Without a word, it jumped back beside Marcus and looked him in the eye while braced as the Trio looked on.

"Boss… its been so long, I thought you'd forgotten about me!" he complained, "You said you'd only call me as the 'Ultimate Fighter', so what gives?"

Marcus gave half a smirk, "Sorry, buddy. But do you remember that technique we learned last year? It's time to use it. We have a damsel in distress here, and the condition has been met." He explained, he dino nodding and re-focusing on the three, having been made aware of the seal by Spencer a little while ago, _Ten minutes before the seal takes effect, but I only need him for a short time to do it in conjunction with me._

"Enough of this foolishness!" Shindo howled as he charged like a hunch back, pulling his right sleeve up to expose his harmonica shaped device, "DIE!"

Marcus phased out of sight, Agumon leaping high into the air with his muscular legs as the teenage Tekina specialist reappeared, delivering the same firm kick to the chin from below as he gave Matt, sending Shindo high into the air. Twenty feet or so, the awesome force faded, and Shindo hung in the air long enough to open his one revealed eye, his fur coat like cape becoming ruffled as Agumon came down from above, delivering a powerful axe handle to his neck, the Sound Tamer grunting in agony as Marcus appeared behind him, "_Dancing Shadow Technique._"

Both still in mid-air, and Marcus behind him like his shadow off the ground, the brown haired fighter threw his arms and twirled them, the bandages left to hang fastening around Shindo's arms and his chest as Marcus performed a half-German suplex, turning the pair upside down as Agumon came in, grasping the bandaged man's legs in the style of a tombstone piledriver to prevent the victim's legs flailing and increase pressure of impact as the partners began shifting their weight, causing them to spin in the air with Shindo, becoming like a miniature cyclone of colour as they came close to the earth.

"Crap!" Hanai bellowed as he plunged his hands into the earth seconds before impact, "_Wind Form, Vibration Soundwave!_"

"_Delphinium Plunge!_" the partners announced as the cyclone impacted, Marcus and Agumon having retracted before the blast of earth, landing before Sora, panting heavily.

Marcus cussed beneath his heavy breath as he stayed on one knee, _That impact was far too soft… something's not right here._

Agumon couldn't see straight and waved in front of his face, "Hey Boss, can we never do that unless I can see after?"

Marcus, Sora and Agumon were flabbergasted as the dust rose from where Shindo was, the bandaged man cracking his neck in his slanted stance, a raised pocket of earth where he was planted with the Tekina technique.

"How is that possible?" Marcus queried, masking the fact he couldn't stand from his single knee while panting, _This is so not good… I've used up my muscle; I can't move that well for a while._

"Certainly devastating," Shindo complimented as he snapped his neck once more for good measure atop the earth pocket, "look how damaged my body is, even when landing on the vacuum of air and spongy earth."

Leaping forward toward Marcus, Shindo went for a right hook swipe, just missing as the brown haired boy pulled his head back, getting a light tap on the nose as he pulled back.

Agumon, while also incapable of movement, was astonished at Marcus as he riveted and doubled over, vomiting like Kurata as a little blood seeped from his left ear.

Shindo hummed in false consideration as he revealed his device again, "Aw, does it hurt? It should do, because while your techniques are fast, ours are faster because they move with the speed of soundwaves. For example, a light tap is enough sound for me to condense and focus in an instant before sending it through your body, in this case, exiting your left ear. You can't see straight because the fluids that maintain balance have been disrupted."

Sora had a flash of realisation from where she was knelt over, "Vibrations… that's how he's doing it, by manipulating the vibrations with that device!"

"Congratulations on passing basic science, little girl," he said sarcastically, "yes, I manipulate sounds. In the Hidden Note Village, the absurd amount of wild Gekkomon let me research them and eventually perfect this unique technique, only usable by me."

Hanai chortled as he lifted his hands out of the dirt and stood up, "Listen, pal. You are great at Tekina, but what is the point? It's an outdated practise, compared to our Genina powers. You even forced me to use the wind technique I created on my own. I can manipulate vibrations in the air molecules without the need of hand signs," he lifted his palms, revealing two markings of the kanji 'KAZE', "with these alone, I can create pockets of air and earth like it was nothing, in addition to the great destructive power I have. Do you still believe that old Tekina will do anything against us?"

"Damn it…" Marcus cursed on his knee.

"Oh, and just a little thing our boss showed us," Shiori cut in, assuming the Dragon, Boar and Serpent as she giggled, "we can enforce certain things… cancelling summons, for one. Thanks to those seals, we can actually get rid of your dino there."

After her explanation, she grunted as she clenched the Serpent seal, Agumon erupting into a cloud of smoke and the strange marking working its way up Marcus's chest, sealing away his summoning as he snarled at her.

"NOW! ON TO THE GIRL!" Shindo erupted as he leapt past Marcus toward Sora, arm raised with the device exposed as the auburn haired girl pulled up her kunai with her sweaty palm. He was shocked as Marcus began shooting across the dirt before her, blocking a right arm clothesline attack, "_Vibration Magnifying!_"

Like that, the force from the clothesline reverberated through Marcus's body, and the sound was redirected up to his left ear canal in vibration form, the Tekina specialist gagging in pain.

"STOP IT!" Sora ordered fruitlessly as Shindo let Marcus plop onto the earth with a thud.

"Now to kill you…"

Sora pulled out shuriken in her finger arches after setting the kunai down beside her, "That's what you think!" she lowly growled as she three them at Shindo, who effortlessly deflected them with his harmonica like device.

"Oh, I forgot you were even here; you don't pose much of a threat, so sorry about that." He shot sarcastically back at her.

In the treeline, hiding in a thick bush of brambles, Mimi and her team watch in horror as Sora was left against the three on her own.

Joe, usually calm and collected, was teetering on hysteria, but restrained himself in the hiding spot, "Tai and Matt can't defend her… and that Marcus guy is down for the count as well by the look of it! Mimi, we need a decision now, should we help her or not?"

Mimi didn't look at him, but her usually brash and bold voice was cracked, and her tone indecisive, "Why ask me…?"

"Snap out of it! If you don't choose now, she might die! You're her oldest friend, aren't you, so how can you possibly be so unsure of whether to help her or not?" The blue haired boy hissed back somewhat angrily, JP's face serious as well as he looked at her expectantly.

_-Mimi…_

_-What is it, Sor'?_

_-I heard a rumour a little bit ago… is it true?_

_-… What… is what true?_

_-Well, do you like Matt as well? If you do, then we're rivals from now on…_

Mimi shook her head like a rudder, her pink hair becoming cascaded as she stopped, _Why recall that now… that was from when we were seven, get a grip!_

"Mimi, hey, princess! What do you want to-?"

"Shut up!" she rasped angrily, "sure, I want to go and help her, but what can we do? Didn't we just get through how we're the weakest?" her lip quivered as she looked back at the scene, leaving Joe anxiously befuddled, _That's right… JP's the strongest of us, yet we're still weak! That's right, we'd only be annihilated!_

"TAKE THIS!" Sora hissed as she threw three shuriken toward Shindo, who didn't flinch as Hanai flashed before him, palms raised. The 'KAZE' kanji flared a light blue as he repelled the shuriken with a rechanneled air way, the shuriken passing by Sora as she raised her hands to her face defensively, the vibrating air blinding her for a second.

Hanai sniggered as he retracted his palms, the auburn hair girl getting a storng pulling sensation at her hair, Shiori behind her and forcing her to sit with a firm grasp of her hair behind her headband that the girl wore like a ribbon.

"Oh, my~! So much lustier than mine…" Shiori chortled as she swung her hand from side to side, tugging Sora along and wresting several hairs from her head as she sniffed in anguish, "Such gorgeous hair… and yet it has gotten you nowhere but certain death. Training is meant to improve your techniques, bitch, not to let you show off your shampooed hair."

Sora writhed in her clutch, but was powerless against her grip on her hair.

"Hanai, go kill Yamato and finish this mission already. I want to have time to play with this one before I get my next mission," Shiori spurred on, Hanai snickering and beginning a painstakingly slow stride toward the root covered space that Tai and Matt slept in, the blonde trembling in agony from the Viral Brand.

"I won't let-!" Sora went to stand, but was vehemently pulled down with a violent tug of her hair, several more hairs from her shoulder length hairstyle coming loose in Shiori's grip.

"Don't even try it, you couldn't hope to stop us even if you did get loose, you pathetic excuse for a Tamer."

Her words cut deeply, and tears cascaded on Sora's legs, her nose trickling with tears as her face crumpled in torment, her hands clenching through the dirt beneath her, _Why… why is it always me… who's so weak, who can't do a thing… just this once, I have to pull through for them, and I failed!_

"Right, now let's do this." Hanai laughed, jeering Sora more as she cried in Shiori's grip.

Taking a large gulp, Mimi had to radically rethink her stance as Hanai came to Sora, continuing his brisk march to Matt and Tai, _What do I do… what do I do?_

Sora growled lowly as her tear brimmed eyes retained water at the bottom of her eyes, grabbing the kunai she had planted next to her before, the Sound Tamer holding her booming, "C'mon, as if you could hope to touch me with that."

Turning tersely in her grip, Sora shot off a filthy, vindictive smile, "It's not for you." She blankly stated as she pulled the kunai to the front of Shiori's hand, _I'm sorry about the ribbon… Mimi…_

Slicing away at her shoulder length hair and leaving the remainder as an unkempt bob haircut, her auburn hair floundered in the air, landing in a heap on the dirt as she stood firmly, Shiori leaping back with a bed at her temple.

As her hair fell, so too did her headband which was tied around it, rough cut marks on the edge of the fabric as the sliced portion fell away from it. Mimi froze as the headband came away from her hair; it had two star symbols on it, previously concealed by her hair.

It was not the fabric given by the school; it was customized, placed on by sewing to the metal forehead protector. Mimi's eye widened as she vividly released, "That's… the ribbon… I gave her…"

Sora straightened up, _I have always thought of myself as a good Tamer… I constantly fawn over Matt, and lecture Tai as if I'm better, and yet those two are always ahead on everything…_

_-I've got you covered, don't worry about it!_

_-You know that black book you mentioned? I think it needs an update… the man who will surpass the Senksha and become the greatest defender of the Hidden Terra Village… He never backs down from scum who flaunts his own power against kids; his name is Taichi Kamiya!_

_No matter what, they always stayed beside me, those two… and Marcus… you did more than swear to protect me like your sister; you proved it! This time, I'll show you a Sora who doesn't cave! And all of you can watch me now!_ she vowed in her thoughts, her Digivice glowing slightly gold in her pouch.

Mimi was amazed in the bushes, "… S-Sora…?"

Hanai snorted, waving his hand through the air like a knife, "Shiori, kill her now!"

Acknowledging the order, Shiori leapt at the back of Sora, who formed several hand seals concealed to her before having a kunai lodged into her back, Sora bursting it smoke as a broken off piece of the root appeared before Shiori, astonished, "A substitution technique!"

Hanai chuckled as he raised his tattooed palms in preparation, _Ram, Boar, Ox, Dog and Serpent… a simple technique, but useful… but not against my wind technique! _He noticed a fast moving body coming to him; an intent driven Sora, arms crossed and finger arches filled with kunai, "Shiori, get the hell out of the way!"

As the Sound female leapt away as told, Sora threw the kunai toward Hanai, the boy snorting as he pivoted and thrust his palms forward, the kanji turning light blue again as he noticed the same seals as before.

"_Wind Form, Vibrating Pressure Cannon!_" he barked as an almighty torrent of concentrated wind came forth, the vibrating molecules slicing Sora before she became engulfed in smoke, revealing another piece of the root, "What a shocker… now… there you are!" he looked up at Sora, the girl weaving the seals as he rifled through his pouch and threw three kunai into her left leg and forearms, blood splattering from the wounds while he scanned the area, looking for her. He was astonished as blood dripped warmly onto his face, the girl heading down with a kunai readied in reverse grip, "Crap, she tricked me!"

Plunging the blade into his forearm as he tumbled back, Sora's face scrunched like a rabid, terrified wolf as she sunk her teeth into his other arm as she lay atop him.

Mimi's eyes widened while her mates gave a gasp at Sora's relentless aggression, the pink haired girl's mouth gaping as her weak trembling sensation at her knees faded away while the sound of smacking meat sounded out, Sora's face being pounded by Hanai's fist, not having the strength to hold it back with her implanted kunai.

"Sora…" Mimi simmered and stewed at the horrific sight as Hanai drew blood and Sora's face began to welt, but refusing to let go of his arms with her kunai and teeth.

_A loud crying sounded out in the middle of the path toward the school as the sun bled away with golden embrace, the small, meek child sniffling in the empty pathway a young Sora, wearing jeans and a sleeveless red top._

"_Hey," Mimi came up to her, the pink haired girl short and sporting her natural caramel hair colour in her purple skirt and yellow tanktop, "Are you the girl they make fun of because you dress like a boy?"_

_Sora continued bawling into her knees, hiding her face as Mimi cocked her head to the side._

"_What's your name? It can't be 'Tomboyouchi', now, can it?" she sweetly said, crouching next to her._

"_S-S-Sora…"she whimpered, retracting her face from her knees._

"_I'm sorry, what? You've got to stop crying!"_

"_My name is SORA!"_

_Mimi gently placed her hand atop Sora's slightly rounder head, ruffling her auburn hair colour, "So this is the Takenouchi clan's unique hair colour… hey, do you wanna know something? Come here tomorrow, and I'll fix you up to look like a gorgeous girl!"_

Hanai howled as Sora bit deeper, drawing blood with her canines, "Get this bitch off of me!"

_Mimi unveiled a small hand held mirror to Sora, after the latter had closed her eyes at Mimi's behest. Tied around the crown of her head, falling behind her ears was a large blue ribbon Mimi had gifted her with._

"_There!" the little princess girl announced, "Now with such a cute ribbon drawing attention to your girl side, you shouldn't have problems anymore!"_

"_B-but…"_

"_But what?"_

"_I still dress like this… I'm too nervous about skirts and stuff around boys…" Sora explained in a helpless tone, "They'll still call me 'Tomboyouchi'…"_

"_That's why I'm helping you with your confidence in girls clothes!" Mimi chirped._

_Sora looked exalted, but her face fell quick, "Why would you do that?"_

"_Enough of the sappy talk, Sora. We're friends, aren't we? That ribbon is proof that you can do anything, even become a girly girl! Have more faith, alright?"_

"_Faith…" _

"GET. OFF. OF. ME!" Hanai voraciously ordered as he began punching Sora's head and face faster and harder. Mimi could see with her trembling lips and twitching, puffy eyes that Sora had droplets of water falling heavily on the earth with her blood, and it was not sweat.

"So…ra…" Mimi spluttered, her breaths shallow as she watched, sensing Joe and JP's disgusted look at the unfolding scene. Her eyes moved away, but fell on the small pile of auburn hair, "I…"

_Sora chirpily ran to Mimi through the flower infested field they played in as children in the dying, golden sunlight, "Hey, Mimi! I heard a rumour that this boy I like has a thing for long hair!"_

The sniffs from Sora became louder and louder as she subjected herself to this punishment as a way of proving herself.

"_Well, well… so Strawberry has got shoulder length hair as well…" Sora tauntingly said, "I guess I'm not the only one."_

_Mimi turned in the forest after Sora had called her out, "If you think your being on his Squad makes him closer to you, think again; you can have the big haired moron for all I care, just stay away from him!"_

"_Face it, Mimi, I'll win this time… your run of superiority is over…"_

"_As if, Sora, your still gutless and talentless, so you can't beat me no matter how hard you try._

_Sora defiantly smirked, "I wonder about that…"_

"Sora…" Mimi released, her voice cracked in half and a tear brimming at her eye as she grabbed JP's scarf, bringing a smile to Joe's face.

Sora was smacked hard, this time being sent skidding through the dirt, sitting up on her hip and looking back at an enraged Hanai with blood and bruising on the left side of her face, a purple coloured black mark over her left eye, causing it to close slightly as she wiped away the trail of blood from her chin and panted, _It's all on me… there is no one else!_

"Now you die, bitch!" Hanai said with madness and hatred in his voice as he pulled up his palm, prepping his kanji air technique while the kunai still clung to his forearm and the teethmarks bleed through his sleeves.

Just at that second, Squad Ten shot out of the bushes and zipped in front of Sora defensively, the girl astonished as she looked at all of them; JP slouched over after being pulled out by his scarf, Mimi in the centre with a firm grasp of the scarf and Joe on her right, his back drooped, his own way of showing his serious side instead of being hunched over.

"Mimi…?" she slowly gasped, her face throbbing intensely after saying it.

Hanai retracted his palms and put his arms by his side after removing the kunai and tossing it aside, "More freaks… when will it ever end? Who does recognize they'll die if they attempt to stop us?" he sighed vehemently.

"Sora," Mimi smoothly input, "go care for the big haired moron and MY Matt. Leave everything here to us three."

Joe snickered (a rare thing for him), _Wow… and a second ago she didn't have the guts to save her… look at her now… now if only he had guts, we'd be set._

JP pulled back his scarf from a surprised Mimi's grip as he stood up with a slouch, "Are you two insane? I don't do suicide missions! Why get involved when we don't have a chance?"

Joe chided, "With you we do have a chance, but it's just that you don't have a set that your whining, JP!"

Hanai chortled with his teammates, who scanned the new arrivals, "Well, he's got more brains than you if he wants to leave. Living in shame is better than dying fruitlessly, right, tubby?"

JP twitched, and his expression darkened as his face fell to the floor, "What did that guy say… did he just say the words?"

Joe was now completely unnerved, _Crap, he's just pissed JP off, big time!_

"Wanna breathe again, pal? Want to say that again?"

Hanai's face became lopsided in confusion, "I said, its better to run and hide than die with dignity, _FATTY_."

JP stomped furiously on the ground, Mimi, Joe and Sora taken aback as he turned to face Hanai, his shoulders broad and his veins popped along his temple, "You are so dead! I'm big boned, okay?" he boomed, "CHUBBIES FOREVER!" he roared, Sora left bemused.

_What the hell is wrong with him? He was never all that normal in school, either, _Sora thought as her injuries panged in pain, "I'm sorry… thank you, guys…"

Mimi smiled, "No need, say a prayer for these guys, because they're about to face our attack pattern; Bani!"

"-Kame!" Joe shouted benevolently.

"-Taka!" JP thundered, outraged.

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_I hear noises… the sound of tears, hits and shuriken being thrown…_

_But this searing pain rising through me… the power it's pumping through me like adrenaline…_

_And next to my body, even while I'm asleep, I sense something dark, like a high pitched scream… and then I wake up angry…_

xxx

**A/N: **We are back with my favourite chapter so far, and next we will see what the Formation Bani-Kame-Taka has in store, as well as the powers of Squad Ten.

But the air grows thick, cold and dark, the source of it all being Matt and the Viral Brand…

Please review!


	14. Episode Fourteen

**A/N: **Chapter fourteen is reached, and we have hit the milestone of over 100, 000 words now, which I am proud of.

I am changing the crucial part of the chapter from the Naruto universe; the first of many. I have a few ideas how the story plays out better with the altered part.

Tai isn't as big a fool as he is in comparison to Naruto for the most part. Story elements abuzz with this train of storytelling in the tale.

**WhiteAngelDragon: I was a little confused when you mentioned my syntax. If you meant the layout and structure, I'm afraid it's natural for me. I describe as detailed as I can in a paragraph to transmit the environment and setting as much as possible.**

**NightShadeGirl: Thanks for your supportive messages. Always nice to know your work make at least one person happy.**

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Fourteen: Danger in the Deathly Forest Rises!**_

…

_Global Mapping Description,_

_The world is separated into five hemispheres, the way of describing the large nations across the Digital World. In the Centre is the Terra Village, The Land of Sparks and the Village Hidden in the Storm to the West, the Land of Earth and the Village Hidden in the Dust to the South, the Land of Water and the Village Hidden in the Tide to the North and the Land of Air and the Village Hidden in the Sandstorms to the East._

_Between these five main nations are bountifully large plains unclaimed, in addition to a multitude of individual lands and some lowly Tamer villages. Around the world, obviously, is the Digital and Dark Oceans, the Dark Ocean a small pocket of water in a secluded patch of the world, as death looms around it._

_The only named continent besides thee five dominions in the Digital World is Server, a large landmass of earth encompassing an eighth of the world before clashing with the oceans and the Land of Sparks. It is well known for its neutral stance on worldly affairs and the food conglomerate Trans National Produce, formerly owned by Dosu._

_Some small areas, such as reserves and forests, are left untouched by humans residing in the world as one of the rules of cohabitation with Digimon, and there are special, sacred places they are stifled at for being near, such as the Ancient Shrine and the Mausoleum containing a long forgotten evil._

_In particular, however, due to Kudamon's withheld tongue, the Royal Knight's location is unknown in the Digital World, as they are exalted, secretive Digimon in a specially founded organization to defend the Digital World from intrusion (like humans, many of them felt) and destruction._

…

Matt was stood in a pure white space, his eyes wide at the child standing like a mirror before him; it was him, at seven years old, in the black polo shirt and shorts he wore to the mass funeral of the Ishida clan, _How can… what the hell is going on?_

The child sniffed and choked back a sob as he began rubbing his heavily flooding eyes with his black sleeve, "I-if I hadn't been so weak… I could have stopped him killing them, and taking TK! It's all because I- YOU didn't have the power! We must do whatever we can," he looked up, his face partially torn away to reveal the serpentine eye of Bashiori looking at the blonde, "for the power we need. We must avenge them all, and save TK, no matter the cost!"

Matt twitched uncontrollably again on the ground beneath the root space, Tai doing much the same next to him, both of them with scrunched up, pained war like faces as they slept, Sora looking back at them with concern from where she sat, injured.

"Sora, leave this to us," Mimi assured, not looking back at Sora's pained face of gratitude, "after all, if I defeat these guys, Matt will like me more," she snorted in a way that seemed friendly, "not that he doesn't like me enough, but still…"

Shindo coughed, "Why is it more bugs have intervened? You're Tamers as well, so try understanding our frustrations at the prevention of our mission! You will all die, and that is that."

JP blanched and gulped as his enraged face turned a little pale, but he was still rearing to go at Hanai for the fat comment, "That guy is so mine…" he hissed.

Joe sighed, darting his eyes to Hanai, "Thanks, you riled up this particular guy out of everyone. Man, calming him down is going to be such a pain…"

Hanai sneered, "Don't worry, you won't live that long," he violently stated, _These clowns are going to make us fail… we have to kill Yamato today, so we can't retreat. It's a full on battle in that case!_

Mimi snickered as she and her two teammates hunched over in preparation, "All right, time for the power of Buni-Kame-Taka! JP, do it!"

"Okay!" JP acknowledged, lunging forward with a strange hand seal; it was basically the Bird seal, but his allocated middle fingers were raised and met at the tips, "_Body Morph, Expansion Technique!_" he growled as his chest area buffed up and his middle section became as big as a balloon as he began spinning forward furiously, "_Buu Ball Attack!_"

"You have got to be kidding," Hanai snarled vindictively as the rolling giant ball came toward him, raising his palms with the enflamed kanji, "_Wind Form, Vibrating Pressure Cannon!_"

The powerful jet stream of air collided into JP's rolling mass form, but was not slowing it down a bit as it began it make skidding sounds while Hanai increased the focus of the blast, accidently raising the ball into the air by streaming the bottom of it.

"He rode the air stream upwards!" he exclaimed, bemused as the spinning ball came back down toward him, _I can't slow it down, and if I try the Tremor Pressure Cannon, it's likely to tear my arms off!_

"Hanai, you fool, move!" Shindo howled as he moved toward the boy and the fast approaching JP.

Joe sneered in semblance as he clapped his hands in the Rat seal, his hands in the Ram sealing gesture, but his top index fingers wrapped atop the lowered ones, "Its time this mummy went back to staying still! _Shadow Mimicry Technique!_"

Shindo came to an abrupt halt in place as he turned his head with some effort, noticing a long, black shadow linking him and Joe, "A technique that halts movement…!"

"Not exactly, it also allows me to make you obey any of my actions as if they were your own. But for now, stay still…" he moved his eyes across to Mimi, "do it now!"

Assuming the strange hand seal from the written test, Mimi chirped, "Right, take care of my beautiful body for me, now~! _Spiritual Possession Technique!_"

Shiori jarred where she stood, her head bobbing down before she reach into her pouch, pulling out a kunai and placing it near her neck, "Alright, boys, get lost or the wench gets it! Leave your scroll, and when I can't sense your chikara anymore, I'll release her!"

Her face dropped as she noticed Shindo and Hanai; both were hysterically jovial as the latter raised his palm, the kanji lighting up as a gust of wind channelled into Shiori, sending her back into a tree bark, hard, coughing up blood and falling to the dirt hard.

Mimi's body, as consequence, was linked to Shiori's body, and received the same damage, blood trickling down the side of her mouth.

Shiori's body lifted herself up, balancing on her arm as Mimi sneered, "These guys… they attacked this girl without hesitation…"

"Well, I never really liked Shiori to begin with," Hanai snorted, pulling his palm down, "besides, you've misunderstood us-"

Shindo continued his sentence, "scrolls and this Exam as a whole? Doesn't even appear on the radar; we live for our mission, and right now our mission is to kill Yamato!"

Everyone once gritted their teeth as Hanai raised his palm and elongated his tips out, pointing toward Shiori, "So, blondie is connected in every way to Shiori… meaning if I kill her… well, you should know, right?"

Shindo looked with less strain at his feet as the shadow retracted, reforming beneath Joe, "So… this technique is only a short burst annoyance from a K'rin. I'd say five minutes is the maximum before it breaks off."

Joe ran over to Mimi's slouched body, pulling it into his arm and wiping her mouth like a ragdoll, "This is not good… JP can't keep his attack up much longer; he'll become dizzy."

"Really?" Hanai remarked, looking at the formerly attacking boy, who did indeed look a little disoriented.

"Okay, that's enough; this is pitiful to watch!" Thomas barked out from a tree limb twenty feet above the K'rin involved in the incident, Yoshi sat against the bark atop the limb, her eyes focused down on Marcus's motionless body, the blonde's navy blue eyes shifting and wandering over him as well, "So, some second rate Tamers from the Hidden Note village have decided to attempt an attack on these weaklings… you backwater trash…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Shindo howled up at the blonde through his bandages, shaped around his sneer, "WHERE DO THESE COCKROACHES KEEP SCUTTLING OUT OF?"

Thomas's eyes wandered back to Marcus, "You outrageous fool… you made a mistake by taking them alone with preparation."

Yoshi's voice stirred with concern, "Marcus…"

"Since you managed to defeat Marcus, I'm guessing your tough, but still!" Thomas's voice insidiously raised and hissed as he activated his Shuhengan, causing veins to pop alongside his temples in anger, "NOBODY ASSAULTS A TEAMMATE OF OURS AND WALKS AWAY!"

Shindo studied the temples and pure new colour of his eyes, he felt water trickle down his partially uncovered face, "Well… if you feel so strongly about it, why don't you make something of it? I remember your mate putting up a valiant effort, so why not avenge him?"

Thomas's blood boiled, crossing his arms and shaping his topside hand in a half Tiger seal, "Well, if you insist, I will go all out!" he hummed as he sensed a dark coldness in the air, shifting his Shuhengan, _This energy…_

"Well, going to be doing something about it, smart ass?" Hanai growled.

Yoshi stood on the tree limb and walked beside Thomas, who deactivated his eye power and smirked, "Yoshi, stand back. This has been taken out of our hands. LOOK AT THAT!"

Everyone followed his instructions, looking over to the root space, Tai and Matt having vanished in a black intermitted purple shaded cloud of energy, which dissipated with a cold trace as a shadow rose in the cloud. Matt appeared as the cloud focused and circulated around him in a purple, ghastly shroud. The blonde shot his head up, Surugan activated, causing most of the K'rin, especially Sora, to flinch as they saw the digital code spreading like fire from his nape onto his face, shoulder and left leg, his red eyes giving him a demonic look and his voice dark, "Sora… who did that to you? Tell me who it was."

Shindo stiffened, _That black digital coding is covering his entire body…!_

Matt walked across to Sora, stopping before her, his purple energy shroud streaming off of his body into the air, the dark chill worrying her, "Matt… what is this? What's happened to you?"

Looking vividly with his demonic appearance down at the slouched over, keeled over girl, he raised his hand, noticing the black coding spread like wildfire on his left side, and the purple stream searing off from his pores, "Don't worry. I'm not in pain… in fact, I've never felt so good; so powerful. He gave me this gift."

Sora's eyes flickered (the partially bruised one awkwardly), _Bashiori? The snake guy?_

"He's made me understand; I'm an avenger for my people. I must become stronger than anyone, no matter the cost, even if I am engulfed by the darkness and have to eat life's forbidden fruits to do it."

Shindo slouched in his already hunched stance, _So those marks on the neck the girl was blabbering about… was a Viral Brand? Out of all nine types, none have proven to be non-lethal to humans afflicted with them… but he's standing, thriving on the power of the Brand!_

"Now then, you three," Matt gave a filthy, scanning glare with teeth peeled to the three Sound Tamers, "If Sora's to forgiving to let me know which of you did this, I guess all of you have to go down."

Joe grabbed a firm hold of Mimi's flailing body as he ran into the bushes, "Mimi, return to your body before this gets ugly! JP, get over here as well, and don't get involved!"

Shiori's body quickly assumed the releasing hand seal, by interlocking her fingers and extending her dainty fingers, "_Release!_" she hastily quivered as the body jolted, Mimi reassuming control of her body in the bushes, rubbing her stomach where it hurt from before as Shiori stirred on the dirt she knelt on, meeting Matt's crimson shaded Surugan.

Matt grinded his teeth and angrily chided as the purple smoke dissipated from his body pores, and the digital coding flared crimson, spreading across to his right side, the code filtered across his body in black code insignia, separated by black flickering flame symbols between them.

Shindo sensed his chikara level and felt flustered, terrified, _Impossible… I had heard from Lord Bashiori that the Brand was a way of maximising a person's potential! It should have killed him! How can we hope to compete with this? His chikara is too big… too strong for us!_

"Hey, don't turn dark on me now, Shindo!" Hanai snickered as he clapped his hands and thrust his palm forward, his face tightening as the kanji lit up, "_Wind Form, Tremor Pressure Cannon!_"

"No, Hanai, you don't understand!"

The wind blast was far larger and more potent than before, and the vibration of air molecules powerful enough to decimate the landscape before him, the root space Tai and Matt were at and Sora not far away from, the other K'rin doubling over to cover their faces as the dust rose.

Hanai scoffed and panted as he retracted his palms, "Got the three of them. Mission accomplished."

"Think again," Matt hissed beside him, pulverizing him in the face with a single side slanted back fist, sending him coursing back across the dirt with a grunt. Tai and Sora next to him, the girl looking unsure of what had just happened.

"Hanai! Just listen for once and control your temper!" Shindo rallied as his partner stood up, rubbing blue bruising on his face, shaped like four knuckle imprints.

Shindo couldn't voice his warning as Matt wove several seals, ending on Tiger and placing a conjoined thumb and index finger to his mouth, blowing out several pellets of darker blue fire, "_Fire Form, Phoenix Arising Cinder!_"

Hanai snorted with spite as he removed his hand from his face and readied his palms, "Try this! _Wind Form, Vibrating Pressure Cannon!_" the wind blew the dark blue flames out, revealing shadows in the flames that weren't being repelled by the blast of air, several shuriken scratching Hanai as he covered his face reflexively.

Opening his eyes and moving his arms away, he was petrified as he found Matt directly before him, bent over with his palm readied, fingers bent inward. Thrusting up with dazzling speed, Matt scored a direct palm thrust into Hanai's chin, propelling him up, repulsing him with a blindingly fast spin kick, sending him metres away into the tree behind him.

Shindo sweatdropped, _The power he's got… he threw shuriken with such force, the blast of air couldn't even slow them! And his speed is beyond normal human comprehension… we are outclassed here!_

Hanai roused and writhed on the earth, doubled over and panting before taking a knee, _How can he be this strong? All three of us are Digital Humans, he should be kneeling before me, begging and pleading me to show mercy!_

His antagonizing thoughts were short lived, however, as he slouched in standing, giving Matt an opening to slip in at the very edge of his peripheral vision, twisting his body archly and planting an axe handle in his neck, forcing Hanai to his knees again as the blonde clasped around his arms like a vice and pulled them back, his foot firmly stomped into the space between his shoulder blades.

The black code and flame mark covered blonde chortled evilly, his mouth chiselled in a low, dark grin as he held the boy beneath him in a submission hold, "Well… these arms are the focal points of your attacks… you must feel very connected," he chortled again with a nasal quality, "very ATTACHED to them."

Hanai gasped in fear as he felt the foot on his back and the pull on his arms intensify, turning his head back to the dark entranced Matt, "What the hell are you doing? Stop, I surrender! I'm sorry about the girl!"

Matt's expression darkened to suit his demonic appearance, "So it was you who attacked Sora… well then," he continued to push and pull on his back and arms until a sickening snap was heard, and everyone saw Hanai's arms dislocate, "consider this as karma."

Releasing him, Matt watched on in sick, sadistic enjoyment as he heard Hanai writhe and twitch in agony on the ground, shifting his red Surugan over to Shindo, who had stiffened against the Medusa like gaze.

"You're the last one still moving," the blonde rasped as he turned and began to stride toward Shindo, "I hope you present more of a challenge than that pansy."

Sora watched with tear brimmed eyes as Matt strode past her and Tai's unconscious body, the pulse of enraged dark energy emanating from him becoming abundant to the girl, _This can't be…_

_-I've got you covered, don't worry about it!_

_-Actually, I noticed second, mostly because of our genius at recognizing Seiina here, isn't that right, Sora? You're the best at recognizing Seiina on our team._

Sora's eyes drenched with tears that cascaded down her cheeks as time sped up again, Matt's stride becoming a damning brisk pace toward a frozen Shindo. His shoulders were raised and it felt strangely cold just looking at him step further and further away from her and Tai, the boy shifting where he slept and flickering his eyes open for a moment, a red glimmer in his eyes as they fully opened, reacting and shifting over to Matt with cold recognition.

"MATT, STOP IT, PLEASE!" Sora pleaded, the digital code bequeathed boy not paying any mind as he came within feet of Shindo, her mind shouting out Bashiori's words, _I just gave him a parting gift, my dear. That Viral Brand of Friendship will activate in time, and he'll seek me out willingly to gain my power._

Matt raised his fist, ready to strike the bandaged Sound Tamer's head off in his unreserved fury, _Sorry, Sora! But this is the only way to ensure they never try this again! They have to pay for what they did to you, just like HE will have to pay for what he did to my people!_

Matt's fist was thrust at blinding speed toward Shindo, who seemed to still be under the Medusa effect. Yoshi and Mimi looked besmirched, while Thomas kept a passive look. Joe and JP resisted the gut wrenching urge to try and stop him while Sora was strewn on the ground, looking at Matt with tear stained eyes after Matt ignored her.

"PLEASE, STOP! MATT, PLEASE, JUST STOP!" she pleaded once more, Matt still ignoring her before he abruptly stopped, a hand clutching his fist before Shindo's face.

Everyone was amazed at the sight of Tai's phasing in form holding a befuddled Matt, empowered by his Brand of Friendship, by the wrist he used to threaten Shindo and pulling it back, raising his head to the blonde, red eyes meeting red eyes.

"She said," he growled as time stood still, "STOP. IT. NOW."

Nobody saw his eyes apart from Matt, and after the two stayed still for a brief period, Matt pulled back his fist from Tai's grasp, Shindo leaping backwards, _I'm safe for now… he wasn't expecting his teammate to wake up, but thanks to that, he's calming a little._

Squad Seven looked upon Tai in amazement, Mimi's mouth gaping, "I never knew Tai was that fast! One second he's out cold, the next he stopped Matt! The moron's got no talent, but he's got speed!"

Matt got another surprise, just as his anger began to inexplicably surge within him as Sora clamped around him with a vice like hug over his shoulders, her tears dampening his back. His code ridden face looked demonically back at her with the immature Surugan showing it was, in fact, Matt Ishida under there.

She raised her bloodied and bruised face, and opened her eyes as much as she could, tears flooding down her face, "Stop… please, just stop it now…" her voice was cracked, piteous and melted through Matt's evil exterior, his dark expression lightening.

Tai looked at her with his red eyes (she cried too much to notice) and he felt his energy flicker out of him, his red eyes returning to brown and normal pupated as her weak plea melted his heart with sympathy. The feeling of weakness and plunging came from his stomach.

Tai's now normal eyes and sweat beaded face shifted across to Matt and his… new dark side, playing on his lighter expression, "Matt… I have no idea what's going on, or what this new Ishida power is, but what is bullying those weaker than you going to achieve?"

Matt didn't look at him, but while his head remained toward Sora's trembling form behind him, his eyes fell down her a little to his pouch; his Digivice was glowing ominously inside it, and it was visible as a dark blue coloured device in stark contrast to gold, _He's right… I need to calm down… I'm no better than them by acting like this; I'm upsetting Sora._

The blonde, red eyed, digital coded boy felt himself control his erratic heartbeat, bit by bit, until his skin felt as though something were crawling against it toward his neck. The code was coloured red now, and began to recede, until the black Brand of Friendship remained on his nape once more, the boy collapsing like he'd been hit by a bus, Sora hugging him as he fell back beside her.

Shindo was beyond relieved, but didn't ease up, _He's calmed thanks to his mates… we're okay for now, but we'd best not push our luck, lest we all wind up like Hanai. I'd better make a bargain so we can postpone and try again later…_

Tai looked down on an exhausted Matt as Sora held his shoulders gently beside him, his brown eyes shadeless and despondent, _Right…_

"You are indeed powerful, Yamato!" Shindo praised with a deceiving, sultry tone, lifting up his squad's Mortal Scroll to the three Squad Seven members, the others not interfering as he tossed it across to them, Tai agilely catching it in place with one raised hand, "too powerful… right now, we can't hope to kill you or your speedy friend there, so I'll give you this scroll in exchange for our lives."

Sora, Matt and Tai shifted their eyes as the bandaged leader walked over to and gave a shoulder to a blacked out Hanai, followed by walking over to Shiori, and picking her up by her waist in the other arm, the girl passing out after feeling Hanai's attacks on her.

"However, I can promise you that we shall see you at the next stage of the T'rin Exam, but for now, I have something I absolutely must check… we've been set up, as far as I'm concerned," he turned, partners hoisted along in each arm, and began to scuttle along.

Matt's panting became more and more of a nasal snort and his teeth began to grind when Sora looked at him and shot a dirty glare over to Shindo's back, "HEY, WAIT RIGHT THERE!"

He stopped walking and looked across his shoulder.

"WHO IS THIS BASHIORI GUY ANYWAY? WHAT HAS HE DONE TO MATT, WHY DID HE DO THIS TO MATT SPECIFICALLY?" she shouted at him.

"I don't know; all I do know is that we were ordered to track your Squad down, and kill Yamato Ishida. Although I don't understand why he, who gave the mission, went on ahead and gave him such power…"

Shindo turned around, braced his arms holding Hanai and Shiori, and leapt into the trees and out of sight as the battered and bruised girl let out a collective sigh of relief.

Joe realized the danger had past, and he and JP ran toward Squad Seven, while he gestured across to Marcus, "Mimi, help him up!"

"Got it!" she responded, running over to Marcus while Thomas and Yoshi looked down at the scene.

The blonde teen still had his arms crossed toughly as his eyes fell directly on Matt, "So, that's how powerful the Ishida's can be… interesting. I never thought there would be such competition here at the T'rin Exams."

Matt's hand quivered before his face, his face paled and gaping, "What the hell was that? What am I exactly?"

Sora's eyes beamed with concern, _What did that guy do to him…?_

Tai looked down at Matt blankly, _Those markings… no, I shouldn't mention them; he's shaking like a leaf, so I'll leave it until he's ready._

JP and Joe stopped next to Tai and the glasses wearing boy studied him carefully, "Tai, where did that speed come from? I didn't even see you move!"

"You weren't looking at me, so you missed it. It wasn't really faster than any other Tamer," he deflected the question, Joe seemingly comprehending and nodding in dull agreement. Tai's eyes shifted over to Mimi, Marcus drooped over her shoulder, "Hey, what happened to the Mega Strong Freak?" he quipped, using his nickname.

Sora shot to her feet, stomped over and dealt him a powerful punch to the jaw, sending him back to the dirt feet away, "Tai, you better not say a word against Marcus! He protected and helped me when you couldn't!"

Tai sat up, rubbing his chin, "Well forgive me for being unconscious!"

Mimi, practically dragging Marcus due to the height difference, wore a cynical expression with a raised brow, _The idiot finally gets up and looks almost as cool as Matt for once, and he blows it immediately; typical…_

Just as she thought this, Yoshi phased in landing before her, relieving her of Marcus by grabbing him gently in a hugging hold before grabbing his collar aggressively and shaking him until he stirred, the pink haired princess staring on in disbelief.

Tai stood up and still rubbed his chin, but his eye twitched as he saw it, "Sora! Your face! Your hair! What happened to you while I was out?" he angrily questioned.

Sora had sat next to Matt again, but reached to the back of her hair, now roughly bob cut by her kunai, and ran a hand over her face. She found several bumps and had small amounts of blood from the one wipe of her face, "Oh, I tried fighting those guys off and they did this to my face, but as for my hair, I cut it while you were out; figured if I cared to much about my hair to help you guys through the bushes, why not shorten it?" she lied convincingly with a pain etched smile of gentle warmth.

To her inner relief, Tai's angry features softened and he nodded in understanding; he had accepted the lie about her hair, as her beautiful face was now hurt and that took precedence.

Mimi held a sullen look from a distance, _Sora… even through all of her pain, she still lies to protect people's feelings… she's incredibly kind, I'll give Jack O-Lantern that much, _she waved her hand in the air, "Sora! I want to fix your hair for you! You should know that you can't cut hair on your own!"

Tai looked over to Joe and JP as the auburn haired girl jaggedly walked over to Mimi, "So… what the hell is everyone doing here? Helping? If you all were, than thank you, Happy Moron Brigade," he clapped his hands together and bowed to them.

Joe chided, "About that name-!"

"Leave it, Joe," JP unexpectedly cut in, "he can call us whatever he wants; he's the talentless loser who isn't becoming T'rin," he had an evil glint in his eye as he spurred Tai on like a grudging friend, "right, Taichi?"

"Oh, you are so going down, JP," he said, lightening the atmosphere as Marcus sat down and rubbed his aching head, all of the vibration attacks affecting his balance.

In the middle of the clearing, kneeling down with Mimi behind her, stripping at her cut ends with a kunai, Sora listened intently as Mimi spoke, "So… you kept that ribbon after all, Sora. Also," her face became deathly and hallowing behind her, "how dare you hug him like that! Sneaky little Jack O-Lantern!"

Sora's face became jovial and alighted like Mimi's almost comedically angry face, "Haven't you ever heard of all's fair in love and war, or don't they teach you that in Strawberry fields?"

"Remember girl, I have a sharp knife cutting your hair; want to lose anymore, or should I just start calling you baldy anyway?"

Marcus stretched his arms out and his vision became less of viable static and became solid again as Yoshi came into view, her face full of concern, "Yoshi? Why did you come here? What happened to the weird guys from the Note Village?"

Yoshi vehemently sighed and shook her head from side to side, "Me and Thomas came here to find you after you didn't show up, and we found this whole scene. Matt drove off the Sound Tamers himself."

Marcus scanned Matt's distant, seated form, "I… see…"

"What were you thinking, charging in like that?" Yoshi noticed the tip of a black mark on his chest, pulling on his collar to reveal the summoning seal, "Don't tell me that's the reason there's so much damage! You've wasted your one summoning, Marcus! Lalamon and Gaomon are last resorts for me and Thomas, but you had to get flashy and stupid, and look where it got you!"

Marcus grovelingly ruffled his hair in defeat as the pink shaded eyes pierced through him like daggers, "I guess I could have done this fight without wasting my summoning technique and using the _Delphinium Plunge_…"

"That's what I thought; no wonder Kristy says you're stubborn," she huffed as Tai came up to them and knelt beside Marcus.

"Hey, Marcus, right? Seriously, I cannot thank you enough for saving Sora."

Marcus smiled with a wink, "Well your welcome. Can you give her a message for me later, I have to go in a second. Tell her that 'Spring Comes Around Twice For The Worthy'. And tell her that when we all meet at the tower, I will be a stronger Tamer; losing so badly to the Sound has proven that I need to work harder."

Matt's ears picked up on this as he walked up to Tai, _You mean… those weaklings were strong enough to defeat this guy? I had no chance against him yesterday!_

Thomas was still on the high tree limb, looking down on the scene like the limb was a perch, specifically at Matt, _Ishida… he's a formidable opponent! The others are nothing too taxing, but after seeing that black and purple chikara with my own Shuhengan, I think I've found a challenge…_

oOo

**SEVEN HOURS PRIOR**

Daisy was rubbing her neck so hard she might as well have torn the skin, her Brand of Sincerity feeling like it had caught fire as she writhed, hunched over on the sofa in the staff office at the top tier of the tower in the Deathly Forest.

Stood at the corners of the room were two mask toting Tamers, the masks fashioned after a cat and eagle in jagged retrospective on white plastic, their uniforms, varied in size as one was bulkier than the other, consisted of a purple Tamer's vest and black pants consisting of a kunai holster and pouch, their sandal black. Although they lacked headbands, they had an identification tattoo on their right arms; twin serpents intertwining into a yin yang symbol. These were members of DATS, the special mission squad of the Hidden Terra Village.

"Now, Daisy," one of them asked in a hulking voice of domination, "we have summoned Lord Senksha here, but why are we not stopping the Exams? Doesn't finding Bashiori take premise over them?"

The other one cut in, "Speaking of which, why call for DATS members as support if you're going to disappear and be found collapsed in the middle of the Forest? You know you're not strong enough to kill him, even as an O'rin, alone, you have no chance."

Daisy hissed back inbetween panting, "Are you done with the lecture? I overreacted, alright? But we still have to let the Exams go on, they have significant implications on international relations, and cancelling them abruptly will pose problems."

_-Daisy, as an old friend, will you ensure this Exam goes on? After all, if you deprive me of my fun by snitching to the old man, I may have to raze the village to the dirt._

The sliding door to the room slammed open, and a bandana wearing T'rin rushed in before Daisy, a black video cassette tape in his hand, "Daisy, you really have to look at this! It's unbelievable!"

"What is it!" she shrewdly barked, rubbing her throbbing nape, "We're in the middle of a-!"

"No, really, it's unbelievable, it's about the first squad to enter!" he replied anxiously, placing the cassette into the television behind him as Daisy was breathless, and not just from the Brand. The tape came on screen, and the three Sandstorm Tamers came on screen on security video, the T'rin pointing at the time allocated on the screen, "look at this time! The Sandstorm Tamers passed the second exam with ease!"

"Impossible… no K'rin could possibly…" Daisy expressed pathetically before the time on screen, "just over an hour and a half? How could those three possibly…?"

"Whoever they are, they aren't normal. They smashed the old record by at the very least five good hours."

"That's not the entire thing you're considering." Daisy suddenly explained camly, walking across to the window and looking down to the thick stretch of tall forest below though the pane.

"What do you mean?" he asked in befuddlement as he examined the now freeze framed video cassette, Keenan peering up at the camera and at him while Tsuki and Daiyo knelt in rest.

"His two teammates are exhausted, yet the raven haired one's as cool as a cucumber. Not many ten year olds I've heard of who can traverse ten kilometres and not even gasp for air. But there's more, can you see it?"

The DATS hummed, "Well, well! A true tough competitor, and this one's very interesting! Look at his clothes and you'll see."

Following the advice of the DATS member, the T'rin reviewed the image once more and saw it, the strange impossibility on Keenan, "I see!"

Daisy coldly explained, looking out of the window, "Not a scratch bequeathed, not a smudge on his clothing and I can't even find a tear on his clothing. In between the gates and tower are ferocious beasts, deadly insects and the other K'rin, so how has he managed to get here and get the scroll without any sign of effort or damage?"

The T'rin sweatdropped at the image on the screen, _Neither me or the other T'rin could get through the Forest unscathed; even O'rin show a scratch, but this small K'rin…_

The DATS in the corner raised a brow behind his mask, "He must have some special ability or affinity with his partner. If not, and this is a special technique developed by him, then we have a real challenger this year; but those blackened eyes screech volumes of darkness…"

oOo

**SEVEN HOURS, FIFTY MINUTES PRIOR**

Squad Eight shot between the trees at a high pace, Davis shooting in the lead, disgruntling the calm and collected Izzy while Mikoto attempted to pacify him before Davis came to a stop on a large tree limb, the other two landing on it and standing beside him.

"We got lucky with the first scroll, and we'll get to the tower first, but what do you think about this," Davis said proudly with his toothy fanged smile, making his mates guts drop, "we steal more scrolls and make less competition! We aren't exactly defying the rules, are we?"

Davis sniffed in the air in pride at his plan regardless of Izzy slapping himself in the forehead, but that sniff got his attention, and he used his acute sense of smell (a Motomiya skill of focusing chikara to the nose) and smelled distant enemies.

"Mikoto, I smell a team about one click in that direction, can you look over there?"

Flustered as usual, she acknowledged with a meek whisper of, "S-sure thing, Davis."

Weaving seals such as Horse, Tiger, Monkey, Ox in continuation, she ended with her eyes closed on the seal of Tiger, with the fingers lowered and heightened in the formation as her eyes shot open, "_Shuhengan!_"Her navy blue eyes became pure, light pink hued and veins popped alongside her temples and cheeks.

Her eyes pierced through the terrain before her like a scanner and her vision intensified as her eyes got sight of exactly one kilometre away, spotting several shadows, all glistening with chikara shrouds as is visible to the Shuhengan, yet one of them was very large…

"Yes, there is someone there…" she replied with uncertainty in her once brittle voice.

Izzy knelt and placed his ear to the bark he stood on, using a general survival technique of focusing on vibrations through the forest and listening to the insects in the area, "Apparently, there are… six people there…"

"OKAY, LET'S GET OVER THERE AND JOIN THE PARTY!" Davis exclaimed to the horror of his partners, Mikoto gasping while Izzy, being far more stoic than other people, placed a finger to his forehead and sighed heavily, "Listen, chickens. We'll just go over there, hide at first, and if it's too dangerous, we'll leave them alone!"

Mikoto tried dissuasion, "But, Davis! T-there's a really large chikara over there; bigger than yours by a great amount!"

"A challenge!" Davis purred in a silky voice, not heeding the warning as he began travelling to the location, Izzy chiding all the way about how Davis was a fool as the three came upon the scene and speedily phased into the bushes below before the scene, looking through the brambles at the six in question.

The three Sandstorm Tamers were stood before no account washout K'rin from the Waterfall village, all three wearing black cloaks and wearing large straw hats that covered their faces. Keenan stood up front, legs separated dominantly and his arms crossed, with Tsuki looking nervous at his left and Daiyo composed with his eye closed habitually, the 'Black Widow' wrapped heavily onto his back.

"Can you believe this, Jirobo?" the slightly rotund on the leader's right snorted, "These Sandstorm kids getting in the way of their elders?"

The other one chortled, "To think they are openly challenging the boss…"

The leader, Jirobo, grabbed his hat and tossed it aside to the dirt, revealing a heavy scar across his left eye, the same eye sealed shut by stiches, "Listen, brat. I have taken this test four times now, and I have paid for it with these marks that will be with me to my last breath, do you really think some no account spook who still wears diapers is going to take my scroll? I will kill you, you know."

Daiyo chuckled with his eye closed, "You aren't the first to make such a claim. Listen, don't discount Keenan because he's ten. The last guy who did that is the paint on a wall in the Sandstorm Village."

"Nice bluff there; I know the kid's no threat. It's you two teens of around fifteen that are the problem," he got an evil grin, "send the little baby home, or he'll feel my wrath."

Tsuki averted her eyes and closed them, "Keenan, just get it over with; I can bear many things, but… well… get on with it already."

In the bushes, Mikoto shuddered and trembled suddenly, the girl's breath becoming rapid as she watched, Davis noticing, "What's wrong? The kid knows the rules in full, so he knows if he messes with the big guy with that large chikara you mentioned, he'll be killed."

Mikoto looked back to the scene, _No… the energy I saw wasn't coming from the big one, it was coming from him!_

Jirobo reached into his black cloak with crossed arms, pulling out two wood canisters shaped like cylinders in his hands, throwing them into the air, Keenan blinking vividly, his face like stone as Jirobo assumed the Tiger seal, the canisters popping open high above the tall trees, the sun blotting out Daiyo, Tsuki and Squad Eight's view of what was happening while the Waterfalls and Jirobo snickered to themselves.

"_Acupuncture Antagonizing!_" Jirobo snorted as a plethora of senbon rained down, the Waterfall Tamer summoning a rain of chikara concentrated senbon down on Keenan, who held his arms in a cross armed gesture, his face still stone cold as the needles rained down and blasted up the dirt as Daiyo and Tsuki leapt back, "What a fool…if he had just given me the scroll, he could have lived."

"Is that it? That is nowhere near enough, you pitiful weakling," Keenan's voice hissed through the dust cloud, the shroud dissipating and lifting, revealing him surrounded by senbon implanted in the ground and floating patches of material that had protected him, the substance breaking down and falling as sand.

"What the?" Jirobo nervously exclaimed, assuming the Dog seal and placing a half Tiger to his mouth, "Sand… well then, this should fix that! _Water Form, Hydro Cannon!_" he spat literally, a small blast of water, comparable to Gabumon's Blue Blaster, at Keenan, the sand shooting up and hardening, deflecting the water without becoming soggy to the Waterfall's horror, "How can this be-?"

Daiyo explained, one eye still closed, "Keenan's sand is infused with his powerful chikara, and can harden beyond the reach of water and external damage. It's a technique only Keenan can use, and its automatic, it happens without his doing anything. Basically, Keenan is immune to any type of attack you can throw at him."

"Impossible!" Jirobo contradicted, sweating, "Those needles have enough power to penetrate thick steel! Sand can't possibly-!" he grunted as he performed the seals Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram, and prepared to summon his partner Digimon before the sand grasped his palm before it touch the ground, more sand wrapping snugly around his body, his face uncovered to allow his curses through.

"Now, certainly you don't need a partner against a 'kid', right?" Keenan coldly said as he raised a clenching palm toward the sand engulfed Jirobo, "Now, I'll introduce a new scent to this Forest; the aroma of your blood."

Tsuki looked away again, "I hate this part…"

xxx

_Yamato's Tamer Technique Knowledge,_

_Fire Form, Phoenix Arising Cinder_

_A split up burst of fire pellets unique to the Ishida clan, a derived technique of the other original technique of the Ishida clan, the Evergloam Blaze._

_I use this whenever I need more firepower in a greater size area like the Deathly Forest, so I can get a greater chance of a hit._

xxx

**A/N: **And there we have one of my favourite parts of Naruto converted into Digimon form. I think I may be overlooking the Digimon themselves, but I have a large arc planned for them, and I also have an idea of how me changing the story to Tai being conscious and seeing the Brand of Friendship marks will affect the story.

Please review!


	15. Episode Fifteen

**A/N: **I love reading really long Fanfics to plan how this should play out, seeing how other authors have gone about it, such as Shara Raizel and Kanius.

Anyway, onward with the T'rin Exams!

It's true what they say. Be wary of the Sandman…

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Fifteen: Keenan's Cruelty! Squad Seven's Straggle to Pass!**_

…

"What the- get me the hell out of here! Fu! Kyoshiro!" Jirobo cried out from his sand prison, his face barely revealed beneath the thick sand, much to Daiyo's amusement from the background, "He's gonna kill me, and then you! Why aren't you trying?" he roared out, the sand blocking his view of his partners behind him.

Fu, the slightly fatter one, quivered and bit his lip, "But we can't! Nothing we can do compares to your senbon technique, and he wasn't fazed by it at all!"

Kyoshiro adjusted his hat, pulling it slightly over his eyes to hide his unease from a calculatingly unemotional Keenan, "All we have is water, and that didn't work at all-!"

"Enough talk," Keenan cut against the three as Jirobo felt his weight lightening somehow, the sand prison ascending around ten feet above the earth in conjunction with the boy's clenched palm, "blood smells best when it's warm, not frozen by terror!"

In the bushes, Davis began regretting his decision, _We shouldn't have come this close! That kid's out of his mind! When I sniffed the sand a little while ago, I smelt blood in it!_

Jirobo saw the palm tightening almost tauntingly, "GIVE HIM THE SCROLL, JUST GIVE HIM THE SCROLL!"

Tsuki, keeping her eyes averted, gave a cutesy smile and waved toward him passively, "It was nice knowing you; we told you to give up."

Keenan held out his other palm to his left, a small amount of the sand fleetingly coming off of the shell and going to the direction he pointed, the cloud getting underneath the hat Jirobo tossed aside, bringing it over to him and re-joining the shell in the air as the small boy put the large straw hat on.

Keenan looked up at the man with a blank face beneath the straw outcrop of the hat before raising his controlling palm to the shell, "_Desert Grave!_" he coldly put as he clamped his hand into a fist.

The horrific scene became ripe with blood as it rained down from the compressed sand high above, Jirobo crushed beneath the sand, his face splattered with his essence as the sand covered over his face as well, another compression going on beneath as the bloody rain slowed and stopped, the boy behind it throwing his hat away as if nothing had happened.

In the bushes, Squad Eight were mortified, Mikoto feeling faint, but Davis squeezing her forearm, the sensation keeping her awake in case they needed to retreat. Izzy, to make sure as he knew what was next, covered her mouth with his hand.

"There was no pain," Keenan stated, his black eyes filled with malice and a strange and vague emptiness as Fu and Kyoushiro froze before the youngster's stare, noticing a sweatdropping pair of distant partners behind him, "at the very core of principle, humans in the Digital World are fuel after they die. They break down over time, but by crushing, they get reduced to minerals, iron from their blood and strengthen my sand by being ground and crushed into more sand and minerals. In a way, this is the purpose of humans in this Digital World; they are a feast for my own power."

Fu trembled like a leaf before this insane child, reaching shakily into his pouch and retracting a Divine scroll, placing it on the ground and pacing back with Kyoushiro, "T-take this and leave us, please…"

"I've heard that before; you will never truly leave me alone, will you?" Keenan put sullenly, much to their terrified confusion. The ten year olds eyes flickered with maddened rage as he bobbed his head down and raised two clenched palms to the two, sand darting across the earth and wrapping around them like two human mannequins, Fu screeching in terror, his tears staining the outside of the sand before it engulfed his and Kyoushiro's face.

Keenan clenched his fists, Squad Eight retracting their views in disgust as Izzy and Davis released Mikoto and turned, all three readying for a leap into the trees as the bloody downpour ceased.

They heard Daiyo's steps across the clearing as they twitched, Keenan shuddering and giving a strange, bated panting that taxed him, "Hey, they have the scroll we need, you two!"

"Be quiet…" Keenan's black mark imprisoned eyes bulged, veins alongside them as he shot his head up, expressionless as ever, "I… need more… need more blood to satisfy…"

Squad Eight stiffened, petrified as Keenan's eyes rolled over to the bushes they were in, Davis clenching his fists, _He noticed? Crap, we're dead…!_

Daiyo stiffened, his closed eye shooting open, and his serious face riddled with a stained anxiety, "Keenan… let's stop now, alright? If you see any more blood…"

"You're scared!" Keenan belittled his elder partner, "Cowardly wretch…"

Daiyo was sweatdropping, but his eyes filled now with a stained anger as he stomped up and hooked Keenan by his collar, shaking the gourd, the boomerang and his pouch behind him, but not his face, "Listen, you really need to listen to what your big brother says, Keenan! Tsuki and I are normal, so we're in danger!"

"Brother? Normal?" he repeated, still without emotion on his face, "A brother is related by blood ties; I was placed in your family after my mother and father sold me like I was a member of the freak show. If you want to die like father, be my guest, I'm edgy anyway."

Tsuki rushed forth, and put her hands between them, pushing them apart lightly as Daiyo realized what he'd done, "Alright, Daiyo, Keenan… why don't you both listen and do your sister a request? Keenan, please calm down and come to the tower! And Daiyo, you're the oldest, so control yourself!"

Keenan raised a palm to the bushes, his eyes shifting back to them.

"Keenan, please!" Tsuki beseeched in a helpless tone, very different to her proud voice in the first test.

Clenching his hand into a fist, a sand induced plug being created, he planted it into the small opening at the apex of the gourd, walking away toward the treeline while his mates looked on in dismay, slowly following as Daiyo chided, "This is why I hate little brats…"

oOo

**PRESENT TIME, SEVERAL HOURS SINCE**

**INCIDENT**

Squad Seven was resting in a clearing of the of the forest beside the river, a large escarpment high above the running water, Tai performing his clone seal and summoning two additional clones as the three leapt off of the escarpment and into the water with a large, bombshell splash, several fish being knocked out into the air, where Matt coolly pinned them to a rock wall opposite with kunai as they thrashed, Tai shooting through the water with his doppelgangers to scare more out of the water.

A moment later, he and the two replicas came from underneath the river, gasping for air while the blonde cussed on the riverbank, "Tai, what was that? I only got three!"

All three responded in kind, fists shaking above the water, "WELL WHY DON'T YOU DO IT BLONDIE?"

"Because manual labour is for schmucks or the morons who get tricked into it; three guesses, and two don't count to which you are," he said with a dazzling smile, "so, moron, why don't you be a good boy and climb back up there, and try not to be a loser this time."

"Matt!" Sora lovingly beckoned from the gathering of wood feet away from the blonde, "I need some fire, please!"

Sora's face had been washed by some water retrieved by the river; the many bumps already gone or of an unnoticeable size thanks to Tamer medicinal techniques she knew, the only real indicators of what happened being a small bump over her left eye and a small piece of tape across the furthest corner of the left eye to let it set and heal naturally, her eye only half open.

"On second thought, we can eat more later…" Matt veered off, walking back to the gathering of fire and hitting it with his minute version of the blue fireball, setting the blaze alight as a blue hued light and heat source, for some reason giving off the same type of light a normal fire gives off, allowing them to see at night.

The fish pinned up before the flames, placed on a stick like a kebab, the group had time to discuss (Tai was drooling too much to take part), so Matt began with the obvious, "This is the afternoon of the fourth day, meaning we now have less than twenty four hours…"

"Not to mention that many teams may have passed; if we're unlucky, all of the Divine scrolls will be gone, or they'll be hard to find," Sora added sagely.

Matt held up the Mortal scroll they had been given by Shindo with worry on his face, "We've got to pick up the pace… after this meal, we have to move constantly without stopping to even have a chance of getting a scroll, let alone getting safely to the tower…"

Tai had a devilish smirk and an evil glint in his eye as he focused on the larger fish, _Top dogs like me need the biggest fish… blondie can have the smallest fish, to match his small cahones! But still, big fish is mine!_

oOo

A leftover team of K'rin some distance away from Squad Seven was lying on a gentle slope of dirt, the grass worn away by rain, all the junior's panting heavily.

The presumed leader was a short, stern looking boy with a thick crème jumper and periwinkle shorts, his black coloured headband having the representation of the Hidden Dust Village, a jagged interpretation of a mountain their symbol.

The leader, true to his place of birth, had a thick southerner accent inbetween his heaving, "I think… we may have to consider sticking it out until tomorrow, and then training for next years, guys… all of the Tamers we saw before are gone, so there might be no more Divine scrolls left.."

Another, a bulky boy with a jumper half black and half white, struggled to his feet and walked toward the treeline near them, "I'll perform lookout and set the traps; you guys rest."

"Thanks…" the two chorused, panting heavily in the hopes it would help them rest faster as the team member went off to do his duties.

The leader had a flash of inspiration while scanning his Mortal scroll, turning to his partner, "Hey… the Divine scrolls, they had a different kanji and white trimming, right?"

"I guess they did… I can't really remember all that well…" his partner mulled before he sparked with the same idea, both giving devilish smiles.

oOo

Back at Squad Seven's location, the three chewed and tore away from their kebab fish, although Sora was staring at the Mortal scroll, "You know… Matt may be right… what if all of the Divine scrolls have been taken to the tower already?"

"What do you mean?" Matt asked tersely, still chewing his fish politely in stark comparison with Tai's voracious eating style.

Sora explained in depth, planting her stick into the dirt, "Well, their were seventy two entrants, meaning twenty four teams at the start, and this exam cuts that number into less than half, meaning the maximum number that could pass was twelve teams, but it wasn't likely to enter the double digits. However, when Bashiori burned our Divine scroll, the number fell down to eleven."

Tai promptly ceased chewing, _Bashiori…? That the name of that Reed Tamer?_

She continued, "Meaning now only eleven can pass, and one Mortal scroll has no meaning anymore. And for all we know, more scrolls could have been destroyed, making our chances even worse."

The silence that befell the three was stagnant, even Tai's chewing didn't register until Matt concluded, "After the hours we used to res and regain our strength, not to mention help Sora with her injuries, we have very little time… the next enemy we find will be our last opportunity to advance, so be ready to go all out."

"You know," Tai input, finishing off his fish and chewing loudly, "I may have a way to get a Divine scroll without having to fight at all," the two looked at him conspicuously as he pulled his pouch before him and reached in, pulling out three blank scrolls used for notes.

"No!" Sora besmirched, pointing at him like a child, "that'd be stupid!"

"Well, Sora, I'm too worried about you to enter a battle," he explained, his teammates looking confused as he grabbed one of the scrolls and displayed it, "if we do this, you won't be the frontal assault. Matt and I may be strong on our own, but we are nowhere near as powerful as we can be now that the summoning seals are on both of us. That means if things go bad, you'll have to summon Biyomon and defend us when we're downed, putting you at serious risk."

The pair gawked at him around the fire, the breaking dawn of the fifth day showing the amazement on their faces; that was amazingly well planned out for the former class clown.

"I'd be fine if you could manage Champion level like me and like Matt claims he did, but you haven't managed it yet, while the ones we're attacking might have."

"I… see…" she concurred in defeat, but her voice regaining firmness, "but the two scrolls have contents! How would a fake benefit us if they check and see it's a blank scroll?"

"However, these types of scrolls we're carrying are checked like you said, meaning they must be two parts of a single password for entry of something like that! If we just figure out what's in the Mortal scroll and make and educated guess for the fake…"

Matt's face became tight and he felt a bead form beneath his headband and fall down his brow, "You wouldn't dare…"

Tai thrust the Mortal scroll forth again, "If I open this, we have a chance of passing!"

Sora punched him hard in the forehead, "No idiot! The rules say no peeking before we get to the tower!"

Tai rubbed his forehead, "I don't want to see you hurt badly like that again, Sora! At least this way, we might have a chance before we get to the end of the fifth day!"

oOo

The pair of Dust Tamers unfurled their scroll in a single swift motion, peering inside at the ink, the leader stiffening, "This is a-!"

An awful scream came from where they were left by the third member, who swivelled around, darted back and came up to them, finding them in a pool of their own saliva, unconscious, "Hey, what the hell happened?"

"These morons made you fail, sorry." A sympathetic voice wisped behind him, and a flashing pain hitting his neck as everything went black.

oOo

No complaints came as Tai held the trimming of the opening parchment in his hand, the scroll in another as he prepared to open it, sweat dripping down his face as he thought about it, lifting the trimming slightly before a hand grasped it closed, Squad Seven stunned as they found Kurata crouched next to them, having flitted through the trees.

"You shouldn't do that, Taichi. Remember the rules?" he sagely reprimanded as Tai lowered the Mortal scroll, and he released his grip.

"An enemy…" Matt hissed as he got to his feet, readying his hand into his pouch before Kurata took a pace back and waved defensively, a goofy grin gracing his face.

"Calm down," he put aptly as Matt eased his battle stance, "that was close you three! Last year in these scrolls, there was a powerful Seiina stored in the parchment, knocking the squad out cold until the T'rin Exams were over and done with. I know a guy from last time who spent a week in sleep induced hypnosis!"

"Kurata… right?" Matt asked the bespectacled man, receiving a curt nod, "Why are you alone out here? What happened to your squad?"

"I'm patrolling, and I saw you three about to eliminate yourselves," he articulated, "it's not like I wanted your scroll, otherwise I'd be on the run right now with it."

Matt nodded, _True… none of us were paying attention, so he could have snatched it…_

"Besides, I already have two scrolls, see?" he presented them like a clueless ditz and placed them back in his pouch, "I'm patrolling while the others are resting, and then I'm heading to the tower to meet up with them later."

Matt's eyes became wide, _Is he trapping us or something? He has just explained fully the perfect situation; one guy, separated, with both scrolls! Does he have faith in his skills or something, or has Tai found someone stupider than him?_

"Well then," Kurata exclaimed with a purr, "I'll just be going…"

"No you won't!" the blonde barked, reached and pulling out a reverse gripped kunai, "You'll fight me, her and now, for the two scrolls! If I get the pair from you, not only do we pass, but with the third scroll, we cut down the competition by one for the next round!"

Kurata snickered, _Smart… although I didn't make it TOO obvious now, did I?_

"Matt, isn't that just a little… impertinent?" Sora worriedly put, using a large word to mask her concern.

"Yeah, jackass, I oughta-!" was Tai's not so formal input, Sora holding him back almost comedically.

"Shut up, loser!" Matt hissed, not looking away from Kurata, "We have no time remaining to play nice! We need a Divine scroll, he's got one here, and he's alone against the three of us!"

"A common mugger…" Kurata snidely put with his gentle smile, "you aren't as cruel as you claim; why both with a formal challenge, allowing me to put up my guard? Why didn't you wait until my back was turned? That is the way of elite, true Tamers on missions."

Matt ground his teeth.

"Not that I don't admire your fire," he added, turning, "come with me. I have been keeping surveillance on several teams, but none of them had the Mortal scroll I needed, meaning a few should have your Divine scrolls, but you need to come with me now; the musk of the burning fish doesn't only attract wild animals and feral Digimon, but also other Tamers."

…

The four now leaping though the trees, Kurata in the lead, Matt queried, "These teams under surveillance… you think they are still in? We nearly falsified our scroll and tried to open it, so maybe they're already eliminated."

Kurata twirled from the bottom of a tree limb to the top and leapt ahead again, "No, that doesn't matter as much as you think. I'm going to show you guys a strategy I've used twice in my seven attempts. We're going to camp out and wait at the tower itself, and set traps for any successful Tamers. After all, with one day left, all of them have to get their rear ends into high gear."

Sora understood, "An ambush! It's so basic, yet it'll work!"

"That's one third of the entire picture," Kurata complimented, perking the ears of Squad Seven as they all lunged between branches, limbs and trunk, "You see, you are not going to be the only ones on the final day thinking that; a few teams will be desperate and have traps set up already, meaning they'll go after us, looking for our scrolls to try mixing and hopefully matching them to their own."

"What's the other third?" Tai input, his interest piqued.

"There are those types of competitors I refer to in my special notebook as 'Harvesters', those who gather more than two scrolls for a variety of reasons. If they run into a powerful enemy, they bait them with the extra scroll to allow escape, use it simply as bait in the Forest for others to walk into traps, sharing the scroll with fellow village competitors or even just to reduce the number of competitors passing and make the next test easier."

Matt hummed behind Kurata, "Crafty… you're not on patrol, your mates are waiting at the tower already, but these Harvesters frighten you… you plan on using us as a distraction!"

"Precisely," he laughed, "you're right, in addition to helping you; this assures may safety as we go to the tower since they won't know who has the scrolls in their delirium."

…

"There is the tower…" Kurata whispered, high in an emergant tree with Squad Seven, at least fifty metres in the air, the tower in full sight, blocking the slowly rising sun, acting as their clock with its large shadow slowly crawling across and around its area, "We must be silent from now on… this is usually where the more confident Harvesters camp."

They all felt a surge of movement behind them against the trunk that went up higher, Tai thrusting his wrist down and catching a kunai propelled through the hidden device in his elbow length sleeve, "There is the first," he whispered with a rasp as he turned and threw the kunai at the trunk.

The kunai bounced into and off of the shelled head of a Centimon, a large Champion level centipede that promptly retreated down to the bottom of the tree to escape the four, following its feral instincts.

"Taichi," Kurata sweatdropped as the kunai fell fifty metres into the dirt, "we don't want to be too loud. Avid Tamers are in these woods, and attracting them is not the way to go about it; or do I need to tell you of the rumoured SaberLeomon that resides here to make you understand that silence is essential?"

All three bowed apologetically as they walked down the trunk using their chikara focusing technique, moving as slowly and quietly as possible before coming upon the Centimon at the foot of the tree, huddled and lying like a wolf asleep.

Leaping from the bark carefully, the four walked off for several minutes through the woods carefully, yet strangely, they weren't getting closer to the tower, but the shadow like clock was ticking away until Sora ground to a halt and opposed the other three on this fact.

"What's going on here?" she whispered, "Why are we no further to the tower than before?"

Kurata snickered almost pathetically, "We've been careless. Avid Tamers indeed! Recognize that Digimon?" he pointed across to a tree, the same Centimon huddled at the foot of it, rousing the exasperated three.

"A Seiina…" Matt concluded, taking a pre-battle stance, "They've been making us walk in circles and wear ourselves out…"

"And they're readying for attack, most likely," the bespectacled Tamer pointed out, reaching for his pouch, "be ready!"

At that, several black suited clones with spiked brown hair appeared, evidently clones of the Tamer that Squad Seven faced on the first day, seeping out of the trees as a black fluid and becoming solid while the original and his suited teammates watched on from a nearby bramble bush as the clones approached the weary four, all drawing kunai in reverse grips.

"This guy's behind the Seiina and these clones," Matt remarked in a battle stance, recognizing the clones to the guy he had stabbed.

Tai snorted with a serious grin, "Well, he won't catch me off guard this time!"

Kurata ignored the sentiment, "What are these? Actual clones or just images projected by the Seiina?"

"Your trapped mice," one of the clones chortled as all of them braced around the four, readying for attack. The one who said this found Tai darting as a blur around the other clones and into that particular one, punching it hard in the stomach before forcing it to burst into the black liquid and reform quickly after Tai fell to the ground, not expecting that.

"Crap!" Matt chided as he activated his two pronged Surugan and scanned the clone as it reformed, looking for the way it was formulated and looking for a weak point of any description. As the reformed clone turned, it had a kunai flick out of its sleeve, and it went to stab Tai while he was down until Matt found the weak joints, the elbow, the forearm and the triceps, throwing shuriken into them pin point, causing the arm to burst and drop the kunai.

"Matt!" Tai rallied, getting to his feet as another clone flicked and grabbed a kunai from its black ink formed sleeve, throwing it at Matt. Matt couldn't move; the instant he activated and used the Surugan, his legs shook and he barely threw the shuriken right before he became numb, incapable of dodging the oncoming knife.

"Move!" Kurata burst out, pushing the boy down with him while the kunai scratched his shoulder, _No doubt whether it's real or not now…_

Matt quivered on the ground, reaching with pain etched on his face toward his nape, concealed by his large collar; the Viral Brand was spreading, the Crest of Friendship surrounded by a few black flames and digital code that threatened to engulf him again, and had as a by-product, seemingly paralysed him on the ground while he gagged for air.

"Matt!" Sora worriedly called to him, almost getting hit by a strike from one of the clone before her as penance, _Focus! These things are real, meaning we're probably going to be stuck in this area by the Seiina as if it were an arena!_

Sora bit her lip and performed the seals (in conjunction with holding her kunai) Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram, resorting to summoning as she planted her hand in the ground, the burst of smoke giving way for a ready Biyomon, the other three looking conspicuous.

"Hey, Tai… remember you said Biyomon hadn't reached Champion yet?" she asked, a strange sense of strength behind every word, "If your Digivice glows, that means they can do it whenever, right?"

Tai looked astounded, his mouth slowly forming a smile, "Sora… it's glowed?"

"Time to find out, after all, these guys are made of thick liquid with the scent of fuel, so I have a good idea about what might happen."

"Remember though; Champions are here for a way shorter time, usually two minutes!"

Biyomon chirped happily, "That's more than enough, when her device glowed, I could feel it all the way back in the village. She's ready, and so am I!" the bird reassured, Sora's device glowing brightly in her pouch again, much to the enemies horror in the bushes, sending the clones after Biyomon as she began glowing bright in the large, Seiina enclosed clearing of the forest.

The bird quickly broke down into a gold light before her body grew to a large, phoenix like size. When the glow disappeared, the bird had grown into a large eagle type Digimon, whose feathers had grown orange and flickered like wildfire, and her talons were larger. The biggest change was Biyomon's eyes; they were filled with strength and fire as she brushed her large wing, clipping the oily clones and repelling them into trees, ascending into the air as they reformed.

"That's a Birdramon!" Kurata finalized, gaping in awe of the beautiful bird as she rose above the trees, thrashing her gallant wings with a glistening of orange like dust before setting alight, becoming a multitude of floating fire pellets, the bird sending them in a torrent down toward the clones with a final thrash of her wings, the many balls following the clones and setting them alight, the oily texture making them burn even faster beneath the mighty Birdramon's Meteor Wing.

The oily clones burst into burning, fleeting puddles of oil all over, the fire burning out with Birdramon's will, and the oil was gone, all of the clones gone, with surprisingly only minor charring damage to the surrounding area as the light glowed again, Birdamon willingly devolving into Biyomon.

The bird wished Sora luck before her brief assistance was terminated and she burst into smoke, the seal appearing on Sora's chest as well, meaning Squad Seven no longer had anymore summoning.

When they refocused, they saw a rustling of the brambles as the three suited Tamers came out, the leader, the one Matt stabbed, angrily clutching at the bloody portion around his chest, "You little bastard… it's time for me to pay you back for stabbing me!"

All three assumed the Dog and Tiger seals, a haze splitting from their backs and portioning around them, several clear clones of them being created, "_Haze Mannequin Technique!_"

"Clones…" Matt hissed, getting to a knee while clutching at the mark, "But which one's which?"

"Who cares?" Tai huffed, exhausted, "These bastards are going down!"

"Tai, don't!" Sora cried as he began to charge and went for a punch at the forefront version of the leader, passing through it like a ghostly spectre and falling again to the dirt.

"I've got to do this," Matt simpered, removing his clasp of the extending markings, his eyes flickering into the Surugan as he scanned the crowd, which to his eyes, all looked like clouds, "They're all clones!" he barked before the mark spread a little more, the blonde hunching over forward and gasping in pain.

Sora looked back at him, and saw the spreading mark, recalling what happened before, "Matt, stop using the Surugan! For your own sake, it'll hurt you!"

"Don't give an opening in battle, fool!" one of the mist clones hissed at Tai, kunai raised behind the distracted boy, readying to drop it on his back before Kurata made the save, lunging in, hooking the boy by the waist and pushing him forward while he got a scratch on the leg, grunting in pain as he reached at it, Tai surging in anger and preparing to slash at the clone.

"TAI! DON'T BOTHER ATTACKING THEM!" Matt called out, lifting his head with effort, "They're all clones, remember?"

_Now two are downed! Go for speccy first!_

In the shadow of the ghostly mist clone, three hands solidified from watery earth, the three originals shooting out of the dirt while Matt activated his Surugan and noticed their ploy, "Kurata!"

Responding to the call, Kurata turned his head around to the three as he struggled to a knee, the leader slashing him across the cheek, downing him as the three went for a combined stab, before Kurata looked directly into their eyes, forcing them to freeze in place.

Matt and Sora looked at the three stiffened figures, the girl then looking at the back of Kurata's head, "Is that a Seiina?"

Matt was not as convinced of that, deactivating his Surugan again, _This sensation of blood envy… it's the same as-_

Tai took advantage of the three lined up, frozen Tamers, jumping into the air behind them, twisting and delivering a chikara enhanced kick to the head of the first on, having a knock on effect and getting them all to hit each other on the temples, knocking them all out and forcing the mist clones to erupt into a dissipating haze.

Kurata stood with a struggle, brushed himself nonchalantly and looked gratefully at Tai, "You saved me, Taichi! Who knows what they would have done to me if you weren't there!"

Matt's glare bordered on violent, _No, that's not true… those three were on the verge of passing out before Tai touched them! Kurata's not as pitiful as he pretends to be…_

Kurata walked around to help his leg, passing by Matt's hunched over form and noticing the black flames and code at the back of his neck, "Is that the seal for the summons? I haven't used mine, so I don't know what it looks like."

"Yeah," the blonde hesitantly lied, Kurata's presence darker now that he focused on it, _Something's off about this guy…_

Tai rifled through the pouches of the unconscious three, finding the scroll and shooting it up in the air, "Guys, we need to go! It's the one we need!" he jovially celebrated.

oOo

Now at the entrance to the tower, Squad Seven felt giddy at the closeness of their passing, Kurata smiling in tow until he spotted his two veiled partners approach from a nearby bench, "Kurata, you're late! We are cutting it close here!"

"Sorry," he grovelled, rubbing the back of his head, "we ran into some trouble. You guys, I'll see you in an hour when they announce the next test; I've gotta go and get treatment for my leg."

And like that, Kurata's team began to walk out of sight while Squad Seven entered through the doors, showing their scrolls to a T'rin standing inside and heading in to meet the other successful Tamers.

oOo

"How was the data harvest?"

Kurata closed the door to a spare room behind him, him and his veiled partners bowing before he pulled out his special notebook and passed it to a pale hand in the shadows, "They're big timers… I especially have interest in Taichi Kamiya… his raw power is unfathomable."

"Well, that is to be expected of Lucifermon's host; raw power is said in myth to have been his… speciality."

"Lord Bashiori," he respectfully addressed the being in the shadowy corner of the room, "as your eyes and ears in this year's Exams, I'd like your opinion on something…"

Bashiori hummed as he scanned the page spread in the notebook on Matt, looking up at Kurata as he wiped his face, the large cut vanishing in tow with his fingers as if by a healing miracle.

oOo

"Nobody's here…" Tai pointed out in an immense hall, two banisters above along with catwalks, and a smudged wooden floor beneath their feet. Squad Seven (Sora helping Matt along) walked forward to the back of the room, a large tablet engraved on the wall, some parts chipped of by age and erosion.

"Sora, I'm alright now," Matt reassured as he left her shouldering assistance, the girl looking worried. Luckily for Matt, the Viral Brand of Friendship seemed to have inverted and receded back into the protruded yin yang symbol that was the Crest of Friendship.

"Right," she giggled, although her inner self raged, _Damn it, I was enjoying that part!_

Tai turned to the two, Matt stabilizing his balance fluidly, reassuming the cool, hands pocketed pose that irked Tai so much, "Hey, you guys, what do we do now? The T'rin said we passed and that the rules meant nothing now, but he didn't take our scrolls!"

"In a minute Tai," Sora jeered up front, gesturing for the two to read the large tablet before them, "maybe this tells you."

**TAMER BEQUEATH**

**HEAVEN IS THE FIRE,**

**EARTH IS THE DESIRE,**

**YET WHEN THESE TWO OPPOSITES ARE MATCHED,**

**THE TAMER CAN DO ANYTHING THEY DESIRE WITH GREATER –**

Tai mulled over the kanji before him on the tablet, making out that much through the erosion and chipping damage to it, but the last word was omitted, without any signs of damage in the region of the tablet, showing it was left out, "So… what's it mean if it isn't complete?"

Sora pulled out the scrolls she carried, the Divine and Mortal scrolls being presented to the two, "I think we're supposed to open these scrolls; remember Tai, you said it might be two parts of a password-,"

"Or the final word on that tablet that allows us entry!" Matt concluded, Sora nodding and Tai giving a hum of semblance at the simple beauty of the test now; finding the complete word for the tablet before them.

Sora placed both on the wooden floor and rolled them, side by side, in a dual line as the ink became clear to them; there was an encircled kanji for 'CALL' in the centre of the Mortal scroll, and an enclosed with the kanji 'CONGRATULATIONS'.

Matt shuddered as he recognized the styling of the kanji and the code sealing them, "Sora, Tai, back away from it! That's a summoning seal!"

The two stepped away from the scrolls as the pair of seal burst into smoke, Squad Seven pacing to stand side by side as it billowed away, revealing a familiar personage before them.

"Zaki-sensei?" Tai sweatdropped as his old teacher smiled and opened his eyes.

Looking side to side, Zaki let out a sigh of relief, much to the befuddlement of an exhausted Squad Seven, "You did it right! You opened the scrolls at the appropriate time!"

"Appropriate time?" Matt spewed, his neck numbing a little again.

"Yes!" he chuckled, "See, if you had opened it early this year, I would be summoned and have to knock you all out cold! Tamers in the field can't exactly be trusted with vital secrets in scrolls if they open them in a desperate attempt to falsify a replica. The premise was to combat that threat, as they would have to see the contents of the scroll to attempt it, summoning a T'rin to knock them out unless they were in this room."

"So… does that mean-?" Sora gaped, giddy for the answer.

"That's right; you've all passed and have my permission to venture into the third test of the T'rin Exams. I'd buy you all udon, but only the big haired fool there would fancy that, I take it?"

"I'll catch you up on the udon, Zaki-sensei!" Tai boomed, leaping into his old teacher and clamping a tight hug around him, the T'rin trying to wrest him off but to no avail, "We passed, we passed, we passed! I've never been so happy!"

The T'rin patted him on the head and gave a translucent smile, worry evident in his eyes.

"Where the hell does all his energy come from?" Matt simpered as he sat on the wooden floor, Sora following his lead with a hefty sigh.

"Lucky Kurata stopped us… that was your fault, Tai!" Sora roared, deflecting her and Matt's part in the near examination failure earlier. Tai hurried over and voiced his defence, not that the auburn haired girl partook in any of it and accepted blame before the T'rin.

"Sora… what happened to you?" Zaki spoke up, looking directly at her purple bruised area around her left eye, "That looks excessive…"

"N-nothing," she lied, immediately changing the subject, disbelief in Zaki's eyes, "What does that mural mean, Zaki-sensei? The final word's been left out, and we can't figure out what it means."

"Who cares, we passed!" Tai repeated joyfully for the umpteenth time, irking Sora where she sat.

Zaki gave a dense sigh, "No, Tai, that is also why I was to be brought here. I'm to explain to you what that text means; it's the T'rin Code passed down from the First Senksha himself." Zaki reached down and wrapped the two scrolls before continuing, "Basically, Heaven refers to the mind, or the Divine of the person, while Earth or Mortal refers to the body. While the workings of the mind can effect and have an everlasting effect on people, it cannot voice them without the body, and the body cannot leave an everlasting effect without the mind."

Tai gawked at him, the others listening intently while the T'rin chuckled.

"Think of the yin yang we Tamers abide by and it becomes clearer; if these two are not one, your ultimate potential cannot be reached in conjunction with your partner Digimon unless the mind and the body work harmoniously, for instance; Tai, your body is devastatingly strong, yet you often lose out because your mind is not of the same calibre, Matt, your mind and your body are of a great sync, yet neither is superior to your mates level in the same areas, meaning you need to work on your reasoning and body, Sora, you have a sharp mind; far sharper than mine, but your body lacks strength to match it, so that needs work; seeing what I mean?"

"Kind of," Tai acknowledged, "But what about the final word up there?"

"You must decide on what it is yourselves, what needs working on? Stamina, endurance, power, mental aptitude and foresight are common answers for that mural. T'rin are military captains of strike forces, responsible for the morale, teamwork and maintenance of their squad, and must be perfectly balanced in every way in order to take on deadly missions successfully. Now, before I go, you three remember; K'rin is the lowest of the low. T'rin is when you are sent across the globe in dangerous, hallowing missions without an O'rin sensei to watch over you. Be prepared."

He walked up to the three, planting his palm into their chest individually, a small blue hue around his hand before he walked back to where he was.

Sora looked at him with the most concern due to her inept girlishness, "W-what was that for?"

Zaki scanned them all, "I have restored and enhanced the seal so that you may participate in the next round; you now have two summons available to you for the third test, with the same time restraints. About the third test… all of you, be careful and don't overdo it. The third test is the most vital, and consequently the most dangerous. Tai, I'm specifically talking to you-,"

Tai straightened up, "From the second you gave me this headband, I ceased being a stupid little prankster, Zaki-sensei! I am no longer an school student, so there is no need to worry! Pray for the other teams!" he tapped his headband, directly on the Ember kanji emblazoned on it, "Besides, this is the sign that I've grown, right? I may be hyperactive still, but the fact I made it this far shows that I'm not a kid anymore; I'm a Tamer!"

Zaki was bewildered, but formulated a soothing smile, "Forgive me, Tai… I understand."

_-Quit doting on them, Zaki-sensei. They are no longer your students, they are ours. They are soldiers in training at our command, and we intend to form them into fine young Tamers with their partners. Stay out of this; it is no longer your business._

Zaki's smile fell complacently, _I'm so out of touch with them now… Kudamon-sensei was right to belittle me then; I was worried over these three because I hadn't seen their growth as he and Satsuma-sensei had…_

oOo

Daisy clasped at her nape, her sweaty palm atop the Crest of Sincerity Viral Brand she was cursed with, DATS members and the wizened Third Senksha in the staff room with her as she writhed on the couch.

"Does the seal still give you anguish?" the Third asked sagely, receiving a pained nod with a grunt, "Then he must still be near…"

One of the DATS relayed his opinion, "I thought he was dead like the rumours; he's been quiet the last few years, so why now? He is the S-Rank criminal Tamer we can't even get close too. Not to mention he is one of the three Sansai- the Three Powers that were once heroes among the Terra Village.

Daisy lowered her head, the pain seemingly easing as she remembered.

_-You know, I planted that very Viral Brand on a young boy not too long ago… his was in the form of the Friendship crest I have been researching. You know what that means; the power will infatuate him when he ditches those pathetic whelps of the Terra Village and comes to me, just as you did when your brand of Sincerity led you to a life of lying, leaving you nowhere, but me._

"He's probably-,"

The Third cut in, "He's after Yamato, correct?" he said omnisciently, surprising Daisy and the DATS members.

A T'rin with a long toothpick in his mouth, arms behind back and vest and his Terra headband worn like a bandana rolled the door open, "Daisy! Lord Senksha! We have confirmed the end of the testing period and are sweeping the forest for those who failed! We have a confirmed number of twenty seven candidates passing the second test, meaning nine teams have waded through. We are prepping the Hall of Conflict for the first preliminary battles in five years!"

The Third nodded in semblance before returning his eyes to Daisy, "Continue with the Exams and watch for any movement by Bashiori."

"Y-yes," she acknowledged as she and the Third followed the T'rin to the Hall of Conflict, the DATS members bursting into smoke and vanishing.

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_What?_

_What do you mean, fight each other randomly? _

_What is this, a tournament to deter me, old man? Forget it! I'm taking your crown no matter what, current Senksha!_

xxx

**A/N: **And here we go, full speed ahead into my favourite part of my favourite arc, the preliminaries! Two additional teams are involved, but familiar faces grace one of them.

Find out who is fighting, next time!

Please review!


	16. Episode Sixteen

**A/N: **And let the preliminaries begin!

Will the first and second contestant ready themselves and be ready to begin on the signal?

Fight!

Also, after thinking on it, the two additional teams have familiar faces, and they are real Tamers, tried and true as more Digimon characters slowly return!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Sixteen: Wolf Barrage! Battles Commence!**_

…

"First, in regards to the second test," Daisy begun through an ear fitted microphone in a large hall of pallid colour, green slated cement flooring, two banisters for an upper level at the sides of the Hall of Conflict for observation, and a large pair of articulate cement hands at the front, formed into the seal of the Tiger, four large panels at the sides of the hands, "congratulations on passing, all of you."

Several O'rin were standing before the large Tiger seal, including Satsuma, Kudamon, Harima, Tenma, Kaname and Spencer standing in file before the nine teams that had passed out of the maximum thirteen.

Squad Seven, Squad Eight, Squad Ten, Spencer's Squad, Kurata's Squad, Keenan's Squad, the Sound Tamers, a team of Storm Tamers and an additional team from the Terra Village, giving a total of nine teams and twenty seven competitors, battered, bruised or besmirched by dirt (Keenan excepted) and stood in file, their teams in rank of three, lined beside another team as the Senksha stepped to the front of them.

Mimi, stood at the front of her row, looked lovingly over to Matt and placed her fingertips together, "He made it after all!"

JP, second in line, had far different thoughts,_ I'm starved… especially after the thing with the Sound._

Joe, last in line and the tallest in line, pocketed his hands and scanned the numbers, _There's still this many? This will be a problem…_

Spencer at the front turned to Satsuma and Kudamon beside him, a confident smirk on his face, "Well, well, you two. It seems your team have made it this far; too bad they won't make it much farther, not with Thomas, Marcus and Yoshi here. Now it's all about their personal ability… hey, Satsuma, I'm talking to you!"

"Hm?" Satsuma hummed, looking over to him with Kudamon perched around his neck, "You said something?"

Spencer ground and gnashed his teeth fist shaking at his side, _Not bad, Satsuma! Just what I'd expect of my eternal rival! But man does it get to me for you to always act so cool with that ferret of yours!_

Spencer's team was in their row, wedged between the Sandstorm and Storm Tamers, Marcus looking at his sensei with reverence, a glint in his eye, _He's just to cool! I need to become like him, I must! Look at him, he's practically oozing coolness!_

Yoshi, behind Marcus, sighed at the boy, before looking across to Satsuma and Kudamon, _So that's the eternal rival of Spencer-sensei's… he looks big, and that ferret just radiates the wrong vibes about him… does he like cute animals or something?_

Thomas remained silent, but looked left and right, _Nine teams are here, meaning twenty seven combatants for the third test. Looks like all of the main threats are here, most importantly Yamato Ishida and that strange chikara of his…_

The extra team from the Terra Village were rookies from a different class of the Terra school who had taken the exam a year earlier than Tai and the others, excluding them from the Nine Rookies due to the fact that they had trained a full year and a half before their fellows, but were of the same age group.

They were composed of a shy girl (although more forefront than Mikoto) with shoulder length brown hair, a green pin embedded in it, with a light green, baggy jumper and black, baggy shorts called Jeri, a sage like, cool boy with blue hair, slightly tanned complexion and harmonious blue eyes called Henry and a short boy with glasses, an open jacket and brown shorts called Kenta. They also were of the eleven and twelve age group, like the Terra Tamers.

The other team from the Storm Village were composed of a tough looking, femme fatale type girl with the red hair to match her attitude called Rika, a boy with spiky brown hair and a pair of goggles planted above his hairline and Bolt shaped symbol headband called Takato and a boy with spiked hair, emerald green eyes, a black shirt with a cross on it and baggy shorts called Kazu. They also were of the eleven and twelve age group like the others.

The Sound Tamers looked violently displeased, Hanai the brunt of the animosity aimed at Matt, who was remaining cool despite the stares from Thomas, Keenan and co., "I'll get that bastard back for what he did to my arms!" he hissed under his breath.

Keenan looked vacant in his black marked eyes as usual, Daiyo still sweatdropping for his earlier instance of bravery against him. Tsuki had passed that and looked around, _Looks like that Matt kid and Thomas Norstein are the biggest threats to me and Daiyo as the data said; the rest are worthless._

Torune, the Sandtorm sensei assigned to Keenan's team glared at the ten year old up front, shuddering beneath his brown vest and O'rin outfit, _Keenan's unscathed… hardly surprising, but we're lucky; the other O'rin seem to be dismissing it. I just hope he doesn't get too stirred up in the third test…_

Beside Squad Seven was Squad Eight, Davis up front beside Tai, looking through the side of his head to Keenan, _That kid from the Sandstorm Village isn't a pushover…_

Mikoto, in the centre of the group, Izzy vacant behind her, looked at the back of Tai's head and large hair, _Tai passed as well! I'm so glad!_

Sora looked to her left, her eye still taped and slightly bruised still, _All of the Rookies from the Terra Village are here, including a team from last year… I remember Jeri and those two being in a good class that was allowed the Exam a year early…_

Tai's mind was racing elsewhere, _First there was Zaki-sensei, now there's Satsuma-sensei, Kudamon-sensei, that scarred dude and that old coffin ditcher! It's like a gathering of the best to celebrate me coming this far!_

Matt smirked, griping lowly and touching the Brand again, Marcus's eyes shifting onto him while the blonde noted, "I've got a bad feeling about this… they must all be the best of the best to have survived the Forest outside…"

The Third Senksha guffawed to himself quietly and remarked internally, _So these are the rookies those three put forth… this will make the third test this year very intriguing… however, _ his eyes moved over to Rika's team from the Storm, _It's heartening to see them here… we've felt severe tension with their village ever since that indiscretion…_

Daisy spoke of the wittering by the K'rin with her earpiece, "Shut up, maggots! Lord Senksha will now explain the third and final test to you all!" she stood aside with a slight bow, the Senksha walking up to the front like a general, "Lord Senksha, if you'd please."

He waved off the bowing and formalities, something he was renowned for, and turned back to the nine teams, columned and scanning them all, "Before telling you all the third test and its perils, I must inform you of an additional piece of information; namely, the true purpose of the T'rin Examinations."

"True… reasons?" Jeri repeated softly as the Senksha adjusted his large hat.

"Why do we take the Exams as an international spectacle like this? Why not host the T'rin exam in the village of origin? Well, it is most certainly not to spice up the action, but it is partially what you are thinking; a taste of foreign powers in young K'rin like yourselves. I do not wish for you to continue in a veiled spectrum of simplicity such as brute strength and to prove superiority. The true reason of the test is-,"

Everyone but the stone cold K'rin felt their nerves rivet inside them as the Senksha cleared his throat and breathed deep for a long explanation.

"Put simply, this is another brand of international warfare." He calmly inferred.

Yoshi straightened up so that she could be seen behind Marcus, "What does that mean? How can K'rin like us all be a part of some type of warfare?" she asked sceptically, ready to give up on her village leader as senile.

He continued with his sage like tone, "You see, although the Five Great Nations have signed treaties, they are easily found to have been built on the soiling of blood in the past when they were consistently at war. However, the Five Shas of the time founded a different way to display superiority in their Tamers produced without plunging into conflict again; the T'rin Exams."

Tai boomed, "Why the hell would we train ourselves just to appease friction between our villages? We're training to become Tamers that protect people and serve in missions to support our villages!"

Satsuma and Kudamon looked vividly at their pupil, as he was about to be roasted with the amount of complexity he did not know yet, and his simpleton, childish mind-set of becoming strong for no reason and doing what he was told still firmly in his and many of the other K'rin's heads.

"Taichi," the Senksha addressed calmly, "do you realize how complex the balance in the Tamer world is? Have you not yet ditched your sensibilities of childish desire to grow strong without coming to a conclusion to your life's purpose? There are many more reasons for Tamers to exist, and the reason they were founded is something you shall learn in time, but for now, you should only strive to balance out the village you are from against the others to dissuade war!"

Tai felt humbled, blushing a little at how he had been cruelly reprimanded by the Third, "Well, what is the purpose? Is this Exam to tell us if we make T'rin or not?"

The Third simmered, regaining his fatherly, wise tone of voice, "This does determine those worthy to be promoted, yes! But on the adverse side, there is another purpose, where each Tamer risks everything for the honour and prestige of the village he is from. Watching this third test will be several Daimyo of smaller countries surrounding us and Councilmen from a variety of lands that distribute missions and therefore, money, supplies and overall military might. Simply put, if you make the village look feeble with their training, they will lose clients, while more powerful K'rin will earn their village more."

Davis snarled, "Why should we risk our lives in the future as T'rin if all we're doing is massaging the bigwigs' egos?"

"The strength and prosperity of the Country, be it Ember, Spark, Earth, Water or Air is the strength of the village, and therefore the Tamers of the future." The Senksha spoke ominously, his voice almost definitive and un-negotiable, "And a Tamer can only find the strength to fight with his fellows and evolve his partner through life risking battle."

Most sweated and looked vividly at the old man. This was serious stuff he was talking about; dangerous, out of their reach stuff.

"This Exam is not only the place for you to represent your Nation, but also show your own strength and prowess. It only has meaning because you all aspire; dream of becoming great, risking your lives for the sake of this meaningful, sustainable manner of international friendship with little bloodshed that is consented to."

Yoshi stood firm at the back of her column, "But… why do you talk about friendship and then mention bloodshed? Isn't that contradicting yourself?"

"No. In the Digital World, humans are widely despised by Digimon in truth, the Digimon partnered with every K'rin is but a fraction of the total Digimon in this universe and specifically this world, and they all feel humans invaded, which is partially true. Losing life and establishing a balance proves strength not only to other Nations, but to any powerful Digimon that may think about destruction, which is one of the purposes of a Tamer; to protect humans in this world from reprisal. This is also how the friendships are formed and alliances made. In that train of thought, I will now explain the third test to you."

Tai raised his brow suspiciously, closing one of his eyes like Daiyo to mask his anxiety.

"Put simply, this is a life risking battle for the prestige, honour and renown of your village; you are all important representatives of how successful your village will be in the next six months."

Tai closed his other eye, folded his arms and smiled broadly, "I get where you're going…"

Keenan became restless at this run about method of explanation; none of it held any significance to him, so why care?

"Listen, I don't care about all of that, I just want my information on how to compete in the third test," he said insatiably, Torune freezing at the slight bloodlust in the ten year olds voice.

"Indeed," the Third dismissed his voice, and continued, "the third test consists of-,"

"Actually," a sickly voice echoed as a Tamer phased in before them, bowing before the Senksha. He was an O'rin, given the matching vest and black pants with his holster and pouch attached to the others at the front, his headband worn as a bandana and a clipboard in his hand, "there is a problem before you continue, Lord Senksha; if I may, will you allow me to inform the competitors?"

The Senksha's wise face fell slightly, as if knowing beforehand the problem, "Yes, Kuzan, you may proceed. We need to get them out of the way as quickly as possible."

_Out of the way? _Daiyo thought irritably, _Now what are these Terra goons planning?_

The sickly man stood and turned, everyone discontent with his ill appearance; usually, by the looks of him, he'd be handsome, but he obviously had sleeping and eating problems, not helped by his cough amidst speaking, "Hello, I am Kuzan Yagami, everyone, and I'm the referee. You see, there is a formality before the third test this time; a preliminary to see who gets into the final test."

"Preliminary?" Sora repeated callously.

"What do you mean preliminary?" Joe snarled, somehow looking burdened while he did even that.

"Sensei, I suppose you have a reason… but why isn't everyone allowed to advance? Isn't it fair for us all to go on since we passed?" Sora added.

Kuzan continued against the whisperings of the slightly irked K'rin, "You see, we believe that the first and second test may have been simply structured because hardly a fraction of you was expected here. As Lord Senksha has clearly stated, many vital guests will attend, and we cannot risk the chance of boring them."

Everyone stared at him, some blankly, some with passion and some with borderline rage.

"We will be commencing the preliminaries immediately, so if you feel like you not up to it, any of you, come up now. Your name will be recorded and you will be free to leave."

Davis and Tai barked in unison, "RIGHT NOW?"

Kurata looked across to the left of the segment of O'rin, his eyes falling on the O'rin responsible for the Sound Tamers, his eyes looking back into Kurata's with viper like intent while he bobbed his head in a nod, Kurata smiling, tapping his glasses and raising his hand high, "Alright, you caught me…"

Kuzan looked at his headband, followed his clipboard to the list of Terra participants and recited, "Akihiro Kurata, right? You are free to leave the Hall now. If anyone else would like to retire, you may do so with only yourself in mind. This point forwards is individual testing, after all."

"Kurata, what are you doing?" Tai questioned loudly, grabbing the stares of the others, not that he wasn't used to glares, "I thought you wanted to make this you're lucky, successful run!"

Kurata looked like an elder sibling down at him, "Taichi, my body is a mess, no matter how much I try to help it. First there was the assault by the Sound, then the entire Forest… ever since the first test, my left ear has been ripe with troubles and I have trouble keeping my balance. I can't risk my life in this condition… so…"

Matt gave him a glancing stare of daggers, still hand wrapped around his Viral Brand.

Tai looked at the tiled floor depressed.

Daisy, from beside the Third Senksha in front of the filed K'rin and O'rin, looked overbearingly at the side of Kurata's head, "That guy… I remember being the proctor for the third test last year; he dropped out then too, citing injuries… Akihiro Kurata, he's failed six straight times…"

The Senksha looked piqued, "What kind of record is that?"

Daisy pulled a notebook from her trench coat pocket, opening it to a page as if automated, "Akihiro Kurata, did not stick out in any particular way in the school, and his grades were deftly average… passed on his third attempt, and has completed fourteen D Ranks and two C Ranks… no amazing war stories about him, but…"

"But?" the Senksha repeated.

"Do you recall the orphan that wandered into a medical O'rin during the Battle of Deathbell Crossroads?"

"Naturally… so he is that child…"

Kurata and the Sound O'rin shared a brief glance with putrid smiles before the spectacled combatant averted his eyes to Matt and Tai, tapping the bridge of his glasses, _To think I have to allow Muto and Ken with such an important task… oh, well. If I played with these two, I'll just get carried away, and spies in such a dangerous position, like me, standing before THE Senksha, will be ineffective, right, Lord Bashiori?_

He moved his eyes back to the Sound O'rin before turning his back to them all and walking for the exit, _Lord Bashiori, if you're here, my information accumulating mission is finished… See you later, Taichi, Yamato…_

His veiled partner, Muto, looked back at the exit, _That fool… what folly is this? Taking such a self-centred approach by ditching us… not that it matters; I'll still kill that Yamato kid and win Lord Bashiori's favour._

Matt looked back also, sweating, as Kurata left through the open gate doors to the Hall, disappearing from sight as the waves of pain pulsed faster through his spine, tightening his hold on the Brand, _This thing is becoming more and more frequent… and it hurts more every second._

The Sound O'rin inconspicuously looked at Matt's pained stance and smile vilely, _The Viral Brand I bequeathed him seems to be taking its hold… now then, these preliminaries should present enough threat for him to co-depend on the power of the mark!_

Sora looked at him from behind, noting the hand on his neck and sweatdropping as her innards felt like falling, _I knew it… that mark is doing something to him even now…_

Kuzan voiced loudly, "Are there any more amongst you who don't feel healthy enough to commence in individual battling right away?"

"Matt, you should quit this preliminary as well!" Sora whispered, Matt looking back with scorn through his pain addled face, and Tai looking on silently, knowing that she was talking about the strange markings, "If you continue, I'm afraid that you'll die! You're stood still, and look how badly affected you are! The mark Bashiori gave you is hurting, right? Just quit, have it erased and try later on!"

Bashiori (in his disguise), overheard her, _Foolish girl; the mark is a portion of me embedded in him, and I don't feel like removing it, and heaven knows how incompetent the medical Tamers are nowadays._

"Please," Sora begged piteously, wiping a tear that brimmed at her eye, "I'm afraid of you… becoming THAT again…"

Matt fell silent, recalling when he lifted his hand before his face and saw those black markings, "… Shut up…"

"You aren't in any condition to continue fighting! I know you've got intensive pain you've been toughing out! If you won't tell them," her voice shook as she raised her hand slowly, "I will!"

Matt groaned before shooting his free hand up and pulling her arm down by her wrist, "Don't you dare. I'll hate you forever if you blab about the mark." His voice was spliced of several things; fear, anxiety, rage, spite and discontent, rather unlike his usual cool demeanour.

Sora looked vacant, hollow before her face scrunched and her face blotched with a childish look of anguish and helplessness, her red cheeks covered also by a thick lining of water beneath her eyes, "Why are you this stubborn? T-to me, your-,"

"It is none of your concern. I've told you before, I'm an avenger; I must prove to myself my own power, and this test is the way for me to see if I'm ready to begin my quest for that man and TK," he released her wrist while Sora and Tai looked at him from both sides, "in truth, I could care less about becoming a T'rin, I just want to answer this question for myself; 'Am I strong enough?'. Only fighting the strongest will answer this, and they're all here."

"Hey, blondie," Tai voiced from behind him, his tone dripping with poison, "I get that you want to test yourself and act cool, but I won't forgive you if you hurt Sora's feelings. She cares about you is all."

"Tai," Matt chuckled, turning back with a face inbetween proud and pained, "you're one of the strong ones I want to fight!"

Tai was taken aback by that, his face void.

Matt felt yet another powerful pang ricochet through his spine and nervous system, the Senksha looking on at him as he griped, "I thought as much."

Kaname stepped forward and leant down to the Senksha's ear, "What shall we do with him?"

The Third pulled his finger to his chin in thought as Daisy arched over to his other ear, "We should remove him from this Exam; he's a danger to himself and others. We should have him in a DATS cell under constant guard to ensure his protection from Bashiori."

"You think he'd go quietly?" Satsuma contradicted with a complacent smirk on his face, his eyes closed behind his shades.

"He is from THAT Ishida clan, after all. He's too hot blooded to not to combat the Brand." Kudamon added from his favourite perch.

Daisy turned to them with a snarl, "You idiots think this is a game? If need be, we'll force his dismissal and bind him! By just using chikara, the Brand will activate and corrode his mind in the fashion of the Brand he's been given! Considering his is the Brand of Friendship, only betrayal lies on his path! It's a deathly technique way beyond the parameters of 'forbidden', he shouldn't even be standing, the Brand will only lead him down a cursed life!"

The Senksha sighed vehemently, Daisy swivelling back to him as he said, "Allow him to continue and see his progression; if it gets too far, stop the match. Bashiori's statement worries me…"

"L-Lord Senksha…" Daisy weakly rebuttled, slinking back behind him with the other O'rin.

Kuzan continued on, after finishing asking individually who wanted to quit, getting no more than Kurata, leaving twenty six contestants for thirteen matches, "Very well, we will now begin the preliminaries! It consists simply of one on one combat, and it shall be taken as seriously as a life or death conflict!" he coughed.

Everyone perked up.

"Since we have twenty six contestants remaining with Akihiro Kurata's dismissal, a total of thirteen matches shall be contested. The winners of the matches shall proceed to the third test. Anything goes, no holds barred matches where winners are determined when you are knocked out, admit defeat, die or I decide to intervene. To decide matches, one of the panels behind me has a screen that will randomly generate battles… oh, I almost forgot. You were all given two summonings with the seal for the third test, and can use them both here if you wish; but that would be it."

"Open it up," Daisy rallied to a T'rin at the side of the Hall, said T'rin pulling out a small control and pressing a sequence of buttons, causing the panel in the top left hand corner to open, revealing a large screen.

"Now, this is abrupt, but lets gather the names of the first two combatants," Kuzan finished, looking with all of the K'rin up to the screen as the green screen flashed with two names in yellow kanji before commencing in an automated run through, ending on the names 'YAMATO ISHIDA' and 'MUTO KUROSAKI', "Will these two please step forward?"

Sora's face fell in horror as Matt and Muto stepped up to the front, facing each other with the blonde rubbing his nape, _This can't be… does fate hate Matt?_

_Already, I'm being challenged by a strong guy; Kurata's mate, _the blonde smirked, Keenan, Tai, Marcus and Thomas looking especially interested at him. Kuzan motioned to him and asked if he was ready, "Yes."

Kuzan gestured across to Muto, "I'm also ready."

Tai's face slanted, _Blondie… if you really want to fight me so badly, you'd better not lose!_

Mimi sweatdropped, _Matt looks odd…_

Shindo looked at the blonde as a pang went through his back again, _It seems the Viral Brand is taking its hold…_

Marcus shook his fist with a fiery passion, _Good luck, Matt! I hope you've learned from that time against me._

Thomas crossed and folded his arms, _Now to see his abilities… and read that dark chikara of his._

Keenan looked vividly at him from the front of his row.

"We will now be starting the first match between Yamato and Muto," Kuzan pointed out pointing to the upper level on his right, "can all none combatants in this match await their turn on the upper levels?"

Besides Matt and Muto, all of the K'rin and their O'rin sensei advocated to the higher tier viewing area, the Terra K'rin all on one side with the Storm Tamers, while the Sandstorm and Sound went to the other waiting and watching area.

As Satsuma and Kudamon passed by Matt, the large, sunglasses toting man said without argument, "Don't use the Surugan. It'll activate the mark. I'll stop you if those markings engulf you."

Surprised by his intention to stop him if necessary, Matt grasped at the mark again and pondered, _He's right… this Viral Brand thing overtook my mind before and pulls on my chikara… that means no Surugan, Gabumon or any of my fire techniques. I guess I have to take a page out of Marcus's book and try winning with Tekina._

Bashiori chortled from the stands he and his followers were stood on, the transformed felon looking down at the back of the blonde's head, _Soon… soon he will have to tap into the forbidden fruit of the Brand; after all, Muto has a proficient Genina that will counterbalance the Tekina he'll have to rely on._

"Begin!" Kuzan coughed, taking a pace back as everyone focused intently beside their O'rin sensei.

"Are you ready?" Muto chortled beneath his veil, weaving the seals of Rat, Dragon and Tiger, separating his hands, his right glowing a translucent blue as he assumed his battle stance, placing his left hand in his pouch, "_Divine Excursion Technique!_"

Matt noticed his reaching into the pouch on his hip, pulling out three shuriken while the blonde worked against the pangs of pain, retrieving a kunai from his pouch, deflecting the three as they came up to him, followed up by throwing the knife skilfully toward Muto, only to have him duck beneath it, his hand still lit with energy that Matt couldn't see without his Surugan. He felt yet another sting through his body, primarily in his knees, forcing him to double over for the briefest of seconds.

Looking back up with strain, he noticed Muto high in the air, having leapt above Matt, coming down with his right hand presented in a thrust to the tile, smashing it instead of Matt, who had rolled across to the side, slamming a kunai into the ground to stop sliding, redirecting the force through a kick he delivered to the side of his leg, forcing him to a knee, Matt wrapping around his left arm like a viper, rolling into an armlock.

"Yes!" Tai cheered loudly against the railing before him, leaning on it in excitement.

"Fool…" Muto growled lowly, rolling with strain toward Matt's body, still in the hold, reaching down and tapping below his headband with his extended finger, his right hand having a strange effect, leaving the blonde feeling drained.

Bashiori was elated beneath his disguise, _Now what will you do?_

Releasing his left arm, Matt trembled as his strength sapped and muscles softened, Muto lifting his arm and dropping it like an axe into the blonde's gullet, drawing blood in a blood spitting cough.

"W-what is he doing… my strength…" Matt grovelled on the tiled ground of the Hall, holding his gut instead of the seal, quivering with aftershock from the blow as Muto performed the seals again, charging toward the grounded boy with his right hand activating his technique.

"Matt!" Sora called out, verging on falling over the guard rail in despair.

Matt's eyes flickered with realization as a palm came into sight, slamming his head back into the tile as Muto leant over him, his right hand clamped on his head, sapping his energy.

"You! M-my chikara!" Matt snarled, his arms grasping at Muto flopping beside him, his muscles losing tone and going limp.

"So you finally noticed," Muto chortled, his veil flailing beneath the expelled breath with his evil laugh.

Bashiori snickered deeply, _Muto is a very rare individual… he can absorb physical and spiritual energies that give chikara composition just by touching humans and Digital Humans with his palm. Even the toughest Digimon succumbs to this, so… now you have no choice; release the Viral Brand! Kill Muto before he can blink, or die by that hand._

"GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!" Matt howled like a wild beast, kicking Muto directly in the gut, repelling him in a backflip.

Landing from his graceful flip, he laughed, "You mere pup; still got some fight left in you?"

Matt got to his feet slouching and panting heavily, _This is beyond dangerous… if he touches me with that technique once more, I'll be out of chikara… this is it, I have to end this now, but he'll go for a close combat situation, so what can I do? I only know basic Tekina…_

Keenan's vacant stare was perturbed by a snarling curve of his lips, "The mighty Matt Ishida… he challenged me, with this being his maximum strength? Or is he playing possum?"

Marcus looked worried, "Matt… come on…"

"So I guess the Ishidas aren't worth much now! Prove me wrong, Matt!" Tai roared, Matt looking at him with scorn, looking slightly across the higher tier to Spencer's team, looking at Marcus like a prophet.

"That's it!" he simpered to himself, softening his battle stance and regaining his overriding smirk, irking Muto, who performed the seals again.

"That's it!" Muto howled beneath his veil, readying as thrust mid charge with his hand readied with the technique, "This time, all of your chikara is mine!"

Everyone was a little surprised when Matt, who was apparently drained of his power, performed the same move Marcus had on him, ducking and delivering a firm, solid kick to the chin, sending Muto high into the air. Hunching over and spacing his hand out on the ground, he leapt and phased behind Muto in the air.

Spencer was astounded, _That's mine and Marcus's Dancing Shadow Technique! When could he have practised it?_

Satsuma smirked, "Kudamon, is that what I think it is?"

The ferret guffawed, "Yes, he's assimilated that technique into his repertoire. The power of a true blooded Ishida's Surugan copies far faster than yours."

"Now, this is all original!" Matt snidely snapped behind Muto as the pair seemingly hovered in the air, time slowing down for them. Matt clenched his jaw as a powerful pulse from the mark embedded in every vein and fibre of his body, the mark beginning to unravel from the shape of the Crest of Friendship, black flames and digital coding crawling across his skin in an instant.

The Senksha seemed unnerved at the sight of black marks crawling, and Bashiori seemed delighted, his true face menacingly delighted beneath his disguise.

_-_ _I'm afraid of you… becoming THAT again…_

_-_ _I get that you want to test yourself and act cool, but I won't forgive you if you hurt Sora's feelings. She cares about you is all._

Matt sneered as the dark energy burned in him, _Those guys… always worrying about me like that… NO! THIS THING WILL NOT CONTROL ME!_

Focusing his remaining willpower, Matt imagined the markings that burned his skin, locating most of them correctly, and forced in his mind for them to recede, which surprisingly worked, the marks retracting back to the Brand, surprising most, especially Daisy.

"It… receded?" she sceptically concluded, sweating at the sight.

"It's over," Matt hissed, the curse suppressed for the moment. Still in flight, the blonde put forward a chopping motion, placing his fingertips into Muto's back before archly twisting, lifting and aiming his leg into his gut, Muto deflecting it with his arm, only managing to seal his own fate. Not removing his leg from the blocking arm, Matt twisted further the other direction, his arm coming out on the defenceless side of Muto, landing a dropping back hand, sending Muto into freefall, Matt trailing him, pulling and arm behind him and unleashing a ferocious fist into Muto's gut, sending him down faster than him.

Muto bounced off the ground like it was a bouncy castle, only to find Matt's foot planted in his gut in a common downward spin kick, firmly slamming him into the ground, coughing blood though his veil, "_Wolf Barrage!_" Matt barked, falling onto his back from the kick he delivered, twitching before he stood up again slouching.

Walking over to Muto's motionless form, Kuzan placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat before standing and gesturing to Matt, "The winner of the first match and heading to the third test; Yamato Ishida!"

While Squad Seven and Mimi chirped happily at his victory, Bashiori merely trembled, a ferocious grin on his face, licking his lips with his snake like tongue, _Magnificent…!_

Matt fell back onto his rear, gasping and panting while giving Marcus a glance, _If I hadn't lost earlier with my Surugan activated and copied his Tekina, I would have lost without a shadow of a doubt… this pain has stopped me moving very quick, after all…_

Satsuma flickered in behind the seated boy, Kudamon on his neck and his hands pocketed coolly, "My, oh my… will you ever stop surprising me? I was wondering for a second where you learned that Tekina, but Spencer was all too forthcoming about your loss as if it were mine…"

Matt chided, but didn't argue.

Spencer, stood beside Marcus and his blank canvas, deadpan face looked down at Matt vividly, _That first move is a portion of the super Tekina technique, 'Delphinium', something not gained with simple Surugan like Satsuma's… it requires gruelling training. Yet the ingenuity, creating a finishing move to it and forging his own Tekina technique… highly impressive! Just like Satsuma when he was young._

Yoshi glanced at Thomas, noticing a cold stare, _Last year, Thomas was the rookie to beat, and this year it's Matt… what an interesting match that'll make; I mean, no one else, myself included can compare…_

Daisy was still amazed, "Unfathomable… to extinguish the dark energies burning and force the Brand to de-activate… what a gifted child. The Ishida blood is truly terrifying to behold."

Keenan seemed shaken, his face still vacant, but his gourd and boomerang trembling, displaying a shudder in his back, Daiyo noticing and sweatdropping, _Not again… that thing is becoming restless…_

"Yamato Ishida," a member of the medical core, dressed in beige scrubs came up and respectfully addressed while two others carted Muto away, "Come with us and allow treatment; you seem to be troubled."

"Don't worry," Satsuma dismissed, Kudamon leaping onto Matt's shoulder, "we'll take care of him."

"Matt, you have to come with us right now," Kudamon whispered in his ear, the ferret's usual confident purr eloped, "we have to seal that Viral Brand to prevent any more… outbreaks."

Matt looked up at the screen as the names filtered through in the yellow kanji, "But I want to see the fights!" he argued.

"No!" the ferret belittled, strange considering the size difference, "we won't be listening to any more of your selfish requests. We are sealing that thing, like it or not, before you die."

Grovelling, Matt was helped up by Satsuma, and walked with him out of the Hall of Conflict, several eyes following him on his way out before the beep that signalled the next set of combatants sounded, the two kanji working out as; 'KAZU SHIODA' and 'KENTA KITAGAWA' of the Storm and Terra villages respectively.

"Who?" Kazu let out lazily, Rika slapping him on the back and hissing at him to get down using the words 'ass', 'moron' and 'pole' in the same sentence that couldn't be mentioned any plainer than this; 'Get down there you ass, if you keep on being such a moron, I'll stick a pole up your XXXXXX sideways until you learn it'. There was a reason Takato and Kazu revered her as a violent temptress, "So good looking, yet so eager to drink blood," the Storm sighed as he walked down the tier to the steps, down into the centre of the area for the fight.

Kenta was far less opportunistic and lacked Rika's… reassuring charm on the more experienced but still eleven and twelve year oriented Terra K'rin, looking down at Kazu from behind the rail, "Do I have to… I mean, I'll get pulverized before I pull out a win."

Jeri, the sweet girl beside him, huffed, "Well, you'd still win! You just need confidence to take the hits is all!"

Henry patted him on the back, "Don't worry about a thing! Look at that guy from the Storm; he looks rather calm compared to many of the Tamers trained there! You'll do fine; he's bony, after all!"

Kenta nodded slowly, adjusting his glasses before leaping over the guardrail and rolling into position before Kazu, a determined look on his face, "You won't hurt me, right?"

"WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?" Henry and Jeri jeered comedically down at him, "DON'T LOOK SERIOUSLY AT HIM IF YOU'RE SCARED!" The more serious competitors like Keenan, Thomas and Tai sighing at how pitiful he was; how had he managed to survive this long?

Tai scanned the pair of them carefully, _I remember Kenta from last year before he graduated… he was a nervous wreck constantly, and voiced his concerns aloud, just like then. And then there's that guy… I had heard Storm Tamers were serious stuff, but he seems so calm! This could take forever!_

Kazu was still amazed at the question, blinking twice and erupting with a heavy laughter, tears in his eyes when he had finished, noticing Kenta's blush atop his serious face. He wasn't natural at all, so he decided to humour him, "It's a fight, so I can't promise anything, okay? But I swear it won't be too bad."

Yoshi was confounded, "He promised not to promise… and then he promised? These guys are morons of the highest calibre. This'll be a long match." She sighed vehemently.

"Don't be so sure, Yoshi," Spencer interrupted, not looking away from the pair, "nothing is decided until it has begun, remember?"

"Yeah but I don't expect much; they're not muscular, so I doubt they're good at Tekina, they're morons, so I doubt they can use Seiina, and judging by the personalities, they must be pitiful with their Genina." Yoshi articultated, much to Spencer's chagrin as Kuzan readied to start the match.

"Alright, you may begin," Kuzan cut through the air between them to symbolise the start.

"Hey, buddy!" Kazu jovially chirped, closing his eyes and giving a harmless smile, "Let's both do our best! Here, give me a high five! The ultimate symbol of tranquillity and mutual respect!"

Sora blanched, "He really is a moron…"

Kenta looked suspiciously at him for a second, gingerly walking up, both Kazu's hands in front of him, meaning no tools of seals could be forged. This was genuine, so he took him up on his offer, raised a palm and slapped his hand with all he was worth, giving a high five, and Kazu a devilish grin.

Kenta coughed as he felt an odd sensation, like wildfire sparking through his arm, his chest and finally his legs, causing a violent convulsion in his leg muscles, in addition to the possible internal damage that ravaged him. Against his will, the muscles in his legs reacted, jumping back with an adrenaline fuelled power backwards, so fast it seemed to have made him break the physical boundaries of light. The wall behind him crashed, dust rising to everyone's shock; they had only seen two things in an instant, Kazu and Kenta high fiving, and then Kenta vanishing, his body having bounced of the wall, leaving very visible cracks.

"What happened?" Yoshi blabbered, flabbergasted.

Spencer hummed at the sight, "I told you, Yoshi… watch out and don't rule anything out. Some may be lazy, some may be acting, but Tamers like that Storm Village kid, they are always brimming with confidence in their abilities."

While the wall behind him may not have much damage besides a few heavy cracks (it was heavily reinforced), Kenta panted on his knees, beginning to chuckle as he got to his feet, arm around his ribs, "You had your shot… now it is my turn."

Kazu laughed in a friendly manner, "Hey, never trust an enemy Tamer when battle has begun! It's so basic I thought you would have seen through it!"

Tai looked down at the match which had begun to look more interesting than he had believed a moment ago, _What did he do…? No seals, and so carefree, yet he did that with a high five? Who is this guy?_

xxx

_Special Panel!_

_Introductions!_

_Kazu: Hi! My name is Kazu Shioda, and I'm a member of the only remaining Squad from the Land of Sparks in this thing. Honestly, I find anything and everything wrong with effort, because it's so dull, nitpicking is the only real pastime in life!_

_Rika: Shut up, moron._

_Kazu: Oh yeah! This is the female member of our team; and a total babe at that, Rika! If she wasn't a self-involved, egocentrically conniving redhead that was only born with that hair to match her demon stance on men, I'd go out with her, right Takato?_

_Takato: R-right… I'm just going to step over here before she rage-quits…_

_Rika: WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A BABE?_

_Takato: Nice knowing you._

_Kazu: Oh my… the oui little princess has a blush! OW! _

xxx

**A/N: **Well, we have begun the prelims… not much else to add in this portion this time…

Please review!


	17. Episode Seventeen

**A/N: **Let's continue onward with our preliminaries!

It seems Kazu has a strange ability, but it does not include hand seals, tools or preparation of any kind. What fearsome ability does this lacklustre Tamer from the Storm possess, and how does the self-esteem issued Kenta plan to react?

Read on and find out.

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Seventeen: A High Five With A Punch & Danger Approaches**_

…

_Special Panel!_

_Introductions!_

_Kenta: Hey, I'm Kenta of the Hidden Terra Village!_

_Henry: Name's Henry of the same village._

_Jeri: J-Jeri… um… is that it?_

_Kenta: Seems like a jip, doesn't it? I mean, they have a chance to sample my leadership talents by asking me my training regime or how many girls I get every day asking me out!_

_Henry: And they'd clearly be wasting their time as your training regime usually includes spitting milk through your nose because you have the mental maturity of a seven year old and every girl that hasn't kicked you in the junk when you ask them out is either in a relationship, to polite for their own good or have certain standards that don't include people with the pick-up lines that would make even an Ogremon hate you._

_Kenta: HEY MAN, THAT'S COLD… _

_Henry: Call 'em like I see them._

_Jeri: Um… I don't have a boyfriend, so which of those two am I?_

_Henry: I'd say standards because although you always act shy, you have a violent side like the time you summoned Leomon because Kenta got too buddy-buddy._

_Jeri: Teeheehee… yeah… good memories!_

_Kenta: NOT FOR ME!_

…

"Okay, really… what did he just do?" Tai repeated for the umpteenth time in the small window since the high five was given and Kenta struggled to his feet.

Rika had an aggravated look on her face, _Not this again… why's that idiot so intent on high fives, anyway?_

Takato leant against the guard rail, a complacent look on his face, "I feel bad for that Kenta guy; he doesn't have a chance with Kazu facing him."

Henry, quite calmly, rebuked this, "Sorry, but Kenta's not as pitiful as he seems. If anything, I feel bad for that kid facing him; Tekina like that will be hard to use again now that Kenta has felt how strong he is at hand to hand."

Harima Shinji, the Squad Leader of Squad Ten, blew out a plume from his cigarette, _No, that wasn't raw Tekina power alone… if that kid is really a Shioda, than he's a threat. His clan is renowned for a special ability with electronically charged bursts through their bodies; the Convulsion Mystic Palm, a hidden technique of the clan that is said to allow them to strengthen muscles and have another sinister effect on the victim's body. They're famous throughout the Digital World as the Ishida like clan of the Hidden Storm._

"Here I come!" Kenta coughed, a sinister smile forming on his face as he performed the Ram, Boar, Ox, Horse and Serpent seals, his eyes focusing into slits with focus, "_Mental Apparition Technique!_"

Kazu's eyes glazed over and his body limped for a moment before he began darting his head around, the other K'rin contestants looking down interestedly at Kazu as he began swatting away at the air around him, Kenta readying a kunai from his pouch. Kazu had been caught in a Seiina, and was swatting at ghostly creatures in his delirium.

"Now then," Kenta confidently purred, pulling his kunai before him in a frontal grip, "time to end it."

Charging at Kazu, who had turned his back after swatting away a ghost in his mind, everyone braced for the sight of blood. They should have braced for surprise as, with his head still turned away, Kazu caught Kenta's extended wrist, stopping the kunai and leaving his foe dumbfounded.

"Not even going to need Guardromon for this," he chuckled, turning his head back; his eyes were no longer glassy, and his breath was nominal. He had somehow broken out of the Seiina, but how, Kenta wondered.

Joe tapped his glasses, leaning haughtily against the railing, "Well, seems that Kenta kid didn't see it."

"See what, exactly?" Mimi asked him, still surprised at how someone as lame as Kazu managed such a feat, "You know what that Storm guy is doing?"

"It'll be finished in a second, so just watch."

Back down in the battle area, Kenta writhed as the Storm tightened his grip, forcing him to release the kunai. With a snicker, Kazu calmly assured, "Now it's finished," and like that, Kenta felt the surge through his body again, this time going to the left side of his chest, his heart beat becoming erratic until finally he passed out, Kuzan walking across and feeling his pulse.

"By way of… death…" Kenta's pulse was gone, and he had stopped moving, Kuzan standing up and gesturing to Kazu, "Kazu Shioda is the winner."

"That's cool and all," he replied, a little concern in his voice as he crouched over Kenta's apparently dead body, propping his hand up with one hand, pulling back his other in a straight palm and blowing on his hand before firmly slapping the propped hand in a high five, "_Miracle Five!_"

Kenta surged up, gasping for air much to everyone's amazement. Kazu had resuscitated him.

"What did he just do!" Sora practically shrieked, shocked at a boy pronounced dead coming back to life with a high five, "That's not a real technique, is it?"

Harima, his Squad and him stood next to Tai and Sora, puffed out more smoke, "You see, the Shioda's are a famous clan in the Hidden Storm for a hidden technique only they know and pass down every generation. By focusing chikara in his palm, Kazu is able to create an electrical pulse that reverberates throughout the nervous system. In short, his clan can control muscles, making them jump, punch or kick with a touch. Not to mention like you just saw, they can also strain the heart until a near death state is reached."

Sora looked in awe of Harima's knowledge, "Harima-sensei, if he can put them in a state of near death, how did he bring that Kenta kid back?"

"Yeah," Tai input, "he just high fived him and he came back to life!"

"Well, my guess is that he figured out a way to shock the heart and restart it; the high five however is most likely a personality quirk," Harima explained, narrowing his brows as Kazu began moving for the stairs, Kenta doing the same and following him, clutching his chest, _Seems that the Hidden Storm is coming strong this year… wonder what the other two are like._

The awe was interrupted as the ping signalled the next match being decided, Tai looking up at the screen to read; 'IZZY IZUMI' and 'HANAI IBUKI'. Hanai snorted at his unknown opponent, "Who's that joker?"

Izzy, opposite to him on the other platform, had a cool look in his black eyes, and he retained his silence like a delicacy, walking by everyone on his platform and Kazu as he returned to Rika's critique, walking down the steps and in front of Kuzan, Hanai standing with both his arms in slings, dangling below his neck.

"W-will Izzy be alright?" Mikoto weakly inquired, holding her finger to her mouth to hide her timid nerves.

Davis just laughed lowly in response, scratching his head beneath the hot rod jacket's hood, "Don't worry, he's strong and intelligent! If I were placing smart money, I'd go with him; he's got the eerie presence, the strength and the mind! He's the one person here I do not wanna mess with."

"If you are both ready," Kuzan proclaimed, looking avidly at Hanai's arms, "…begin."

Shindo smirked snidely through his bandages, "Now, Hanai… it will be a sight to see for you to manage this match with your arms and those marks on your palms off limits," he articulated as Bashiori's cold presence vanished from behind him, the disguised felon vanishing into smoke, _So, he gave Yamato enough time so it wouldn't look unusual… what is in that man's mind…_

Hanai looked down at his arms, straining himself as he managed to twitch his right hand, "Well, seems I got feeling in this one…"

Izzy lurched forward into a preparing stance, pocketing his hands in a strange battle pose, "Give up, you can't hope to win this."

Up in the stands, Sora looked across to Tai, "Do you think Izzy will be alright? He was always weird, so I stayed away from him. Do you know if he's strong?"

Tai shook his head, "Not a clue; he was the left to himself because he was quiet; he had the best passing grades though, so that ought to mean something."

"ONE ARM IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR A PANSY LIKE YOU!" Hanai hollered, his right arm snapping as he removed it from his sling and thrust it right into Izzy's imperviously calm face, the kanji on his palm lighting up, "_WIND FORM, VIBRATING PRESSURE CANNON!_"

The wave of wind pressure blasted into Izzy's face, blurring him from view as any dust in the nooks and crannies of the ancient tiles was released, clouding sight of him.

oOo

Meanwhile in a shrine area at the apex of the tower where T'rin stationed could pray, Matt, Kudamon and Satsuma had arrived, a thick darkness cast by Satsuma blowing out most of the shrine's candles except four, cover four pillars surrounding them. Matt was sat, his jacket taken off and several markings painted on in amazing haste by his sensei, Kudamon drawing a circle of biohazard symbols beside each other, encompassing Matt. The markings drawn from his nape, around the Viral Brand to the circle in a spiral pattern were finished, Satsuma removing his trench coat to make him abler to perform the seals required.

Although he kept the shades on, his voice emphasised his concern for Matt, displaying teacher affection as he ensured Matt knew, "This sealing will sting your neck a little. Kudamon, please stay outside of the circle."

Satsuma took a breath, Matt doing the same as the Brand stung harder, as if reacting in fear as Satsuma performed the seals Hare, Serpent, Horse, Ram, Bird, Tiger, Hare, Serpent, Horse, Ram, Bird, Tiger, Hare, Serpent, Horse, Ram, Bird, Dog and Rat in a long sequence as fast as a flicker of an eye, before planting his hand on the Viral Brand, Matt yelping in pain while he announced, "_Sealing Technique, Hazard Virus Containment!_"

The markings surrounding the mark, falling down Matt's body and running off onto the floor began to prop up, moving like worms with an upward and downward movement, rising up his neck to the Brand, Matt holding back his screams of pain as the spiral pattern began to drag in the assorted biohazard symbols, all twisting up the blonde's body and ending in a circle around the mark in a circle as a red light, fading away and revealing that the hazard symbols, curved, over running crescents in a rough triangle conjoined with copies of itself, forging the circle that imprisoned the mark like a shield.

Matt rolled off his rear and onto his knees, coughing heavily, the pain subsiding, but a very strong pull on his eyes making it obvious he was on the verge of passing out.

Satsuma pulled his palm up before his eyes for a second, noticing it quiver after the strain of making the seal, "Yamato," he formally addressed, the blonde looking back with a choked gasp, still breathing heavy, "this new seal I've bequeathed you should restrain the deterioration of your chikara from the Viral Brand, but remember that your own willpower dictates it; if you falter for a moment, teeter on the edge of darkness, it will burst forth.

Matt coughed one last time before collapsing, falling unconscious.

Kudamon flounced up to Matt and felt his forehead with his stubby paw, "He's got a mild fever, so I suggest we take him to DATS now."

"He's totally drained," the O'rin confirmed, reaching for his propped trench coat beside him before a shudder ran through his and the ferret's spine.

"SO YOU CAN UTILIZE SEALING TECHNIQUES NOW…" Bashiori hissed, coming forth from the shadows into the confined space of light behind Satsuma, Kudamon trouncing and curling around his partner's body to his favourite perch, facing Bashiori with a dirt ridden sneer, "YOU'VE GROWN, SATSUMA."

"You're…" Satsuma made out the broad cheekbones, pale skin and purple facial markings of Bashiori, "Supposed to be a missing Tamer."

"Tamer… I wouldn't call myself that… after all, I'm considered scum because I tampered in the same way the Hidden Tide used to," he snickered evilly, "after all, assimilating Koburmon into my being for the sake of my goal… I can see why that may be frowned upon…"

"You're wanted for much more than that," Kudamon snarled.

"Ah, the once mighty one himself… sadly, I'm not here to argue semantics behind our pasts, 'Lancer of Ice', and you don't interest me either, Satsuma. I want that boy behind you."

Satsuma's eyes bolstered in fear behind his shades, but by the hissing laugh, he assumed Bashiori saw it, "Why do you want Matt?"

"You know full well, after all," he immediately deviated, "you already enjoy the luxuries of an Ishida, don't you? I don't recall you having a certain red, symbol bearing eye last time…"

Satsuma and Kudamon understood now, the tall man coldly concluding, "You want the Ishida Bloodline Trait, don't you? What is your plan?"

Bashiori rasped a chuckle for a second, "The Hidden Note village that suddenly sprouted… is my village. And I'm sure you understand what that indicates…"

"A foolish ambition guides them," the O'rin insidiously spat.

"Yeah, something like that. But it is all needed; after all, PAWNS don't come unless baited."

oOo

"It's not over yet, get on your feet!" Hanai barked with a sinister look of delight on his face, Izzy slowly getting to his feet, pocketing his hands and lifting his head, "W-what the hell is that-?"

The red haired boy's face was still vacant of any sort of fear, actually, his face was cut on the left cheek, but only small droplets of blood came forth, several miniature, six legged insects crawling out, making the Terra girls practice their gag reflex at the sight of it.

Hanai blanched, "B-bugs?" he heard small scurrying behind him, turning to find several of the bugs crawling across the ground, coming to a halt in a single black file of insects.

"I told you before," Izzy restated, "you cannot hope to win with one arm; point that technique at me, and the digital swarm will attack, after all, they love attacking in a pack, and devour chikara from the writhing anguish of your body. Either way, you've lost; ace in the holes are a necessity."

Hanai snarled and thought on his next move, _I can't lose here… I'm important to Lord Bashiori, and I swore my life in servitude of him!_

_-Do you want to be more powerful, boy? Be able to steal food to feed yourself without a chance of capture? Make anything in this world yours at a whim? You have the potential… fight for me, and I will make you strong! Prove your worth to me!_

Hanai crumpled his face in anguish, _I cannot keep failing like this, _with a grunt of pain, his left shoulder popped and he lifted both arms, one to Izzy, one to the bugs, the kanji alighting, "_WIND FORM, VIBRATING PRESSURE CANNON!_"

Hanai howled in agony as pain surged through his arms, blood soaring past his face in what seemed to be slow motion, his eyes slowly looking across to his right arm, filled with bubble like contusions on the skin that enveloped his wrists and forearms, all bursting simultaneously and rending him to his knees.

"What?" Davis bellowed in surprise.

Tenma, his sensei, sweatdropped at the horrific sight of blood covering Hanai's arms, _That's Izzy for you… not thinking in one, or two but three different attack strategies at once to counterbalance his opponent! He was goading him to see which of the three moves would be most useful; ingenious!_

Harima puffed out the smoky plume of his cigarette, _So that's the best scoring rookie this year… he was miles above your average standard of K'rin Tamer in his graduation exams… but for him to be able to incite an opponent into three attack patterns; a trap that isn't a trap, is impressive._

"W-WHAT IS THIS?" Hanai shouted, looking across to Izzy, "What did you do to me, you little bastard?"

"Sorry," he said, erupting into smoke and transforming into a giant red beetle with black protruding bumps on his shell, the bug's face prominent with bulging green eyes, a door like mouth and orange feelers, "I'm not Izzy; I'm Tentomon!"

"WHAT?"

"You didn't really think that after that demonstration of the markings power by that palm of yours went unnoticed?" Izzy's voice appealed from behind Hanai, the smaller than average K'rin detached in facial expression, "You see, when you blew me away and everyone covered their eyes from your blast, I summoned Tentomon and had him turn into me to keep you busy. Meanwhile, I snuck behind you, planted those bug swarms and ordered them to charge at you after I sent two special beetles ahead."

Hanai panted on his knees, his arms even less useful than when Matt was finished with them, "Then why did this happen to my arms…?"

"The beetles were horned, and after communicating orders to them, they climbed up your leg as gently as possible until they reached both palms, and scratched the markings, making them incomplete; that has an adverse effect and causes devastating results. I told you, having an ace in the hole is good, but three guarantees victory."

"You!" Hanai sneered, turning and going for a basic Tekina spin kick, missing and getting a firm backhand fist as a result, skidding across the tiled floor.

oOo

"I don't care if you are one of THE Sansai," Satsuma hissed, hunching over, left hand on right wrist as his hand began sparking with his own technique, the _Bolt Blade_, "I can at least parry you, so keep away from Matt!"

Bashiori chortled, taunting him by placing a foot forward and delighting in the bead that fell down Satsuma's face, "You- parry ME? Does that not sound in the most insignificant way… impossible, like everything else you've done?"

"What do you mean?"

"That seal you and the rat placed on the boy… you must realise it will not quench his thirst, quell his insatiable hungry for power; only I can grant him the powers to fulfil his ambitions, after all, avengers accept any type of power as long as it will allow them to see to their own needs."

"So… the Brand is just your twisted way of testing his loyalties…"

Bashiori turned on his heel and began walking back into the darkness, "Well, his form of the Brand is decided through his own will, and since it is the Brand of Friendship… well, let us just wait and see… also, you said you wanted to kill me? Try, after all, you have the former super Mega level Digimon with you, recognized formally as the 'Lancer of Ice' and 'Glacial Render'… Satsuma."

Satsuma's eyes faltered behind his shades, which were also aimed at deflecting Seiina, as Bashiori released his killer instinct into the air, the pressure forcing Satsuma to watch as he was killed in four various ways, realizing that the felon had left the shrine, leaving Matt, "Me… parry him… I'm losing my mind to say such careless things…"

oOo

Izzy was stood still as Kuzan checked on Hanai's physical state, determining the outcome, "The winner of the third match and advancing, Izzy Izumi."

Marcus looked across to Thomas, taking heed of Kuzan's decision, the blonde already one step ahead of him, weaving several lightning quick seals, ending on Ram, his veins and pure eyes showing his Shuhengan activating.

The blonde's x-ray vision allowed him to see the skeletal, muscular and even the chikara system, but one thing caught his advanced eyesight, making him focus on the right side of his chest, above his heart, "What a guy… his chikara is re-routed to his heart and into a seal on his chest…"

"Of course," Spencer intervened, Thomas deactivating his eye technique and looking at him with Marcus and Yoshi, "he is a member of the Izumis, a very ancient bug master clan. You see, from birth they are given a seal that allows them to summon untold herds of insects of many types to fight with them, but they must pay chikara to feed the insects before they do their bidding. It is an ancient technique known only to the Izumis as part of a pact made generations ago with a legendary bug Digimon. That skill in addition to the boy's genius may make him a threat to you three."

"So he's the rookie from the Izumi clan I've heard of," Marcus input, leaning against the railing, "the one who managed the best passing scores; a prodigy, some say."

On the other tier opposite, Shiori and Shindo looked passively as Hanai was carted away by medical Tamers, the girl managing with disinterest, "Why'd his arms blow do you think?"

Shindo recited Izzy's explanation simpler for the primal girl beside him, low on intelligence, "He had two horned bugs work their way up to his marks, and had them cut through the markings. You see, an imperfect marking like that kanji technique needs to be intact to preserve and maintain the air propulsion, but with the way out not perfect, the energy ran back in a loop, collided with more energy in his arms and…"

"Made them blow out from within…"

Shindo watched carefully as Hanai was carted out through the large archway, out of the Hall, _I never liked you in all honesty, but I was put on this mission, and I admire that flare you showed when you popped your shoulder back into place… I'll get them back for you._

Tai was in disarray, "What? Since when was IZZY that strong?"

Sora couldn't believe it either, "He's shorter than most here and always quiet… I thought he'd be like that Kenta in all honesty…"

Izzy worked his way up the steps and to his team, Mikoto pressing her dainty index fingers together nervously, "Izz-Izzy… good job…"

"Thank you, Mikoto," he said with what little warmth the detached boy could muster, "I hope you two can carry on the streak."

Davis grunted, _Cocky as always just because he knew he couldn't lose to a stupid guy like that…_

Smoke burst behind Tai and Sora, Satsuma and Kudamon arriving with the O'rin man giving a dull, "Howdy."

Sora felt a little irked inside, "What do you mean, 'Howdy'? Is Matt going to be alright?"

"He's resting," Satsuma explained, Sora sighing in relief, _With DATS guards though…_

The screen halted the flashing name assorting without much notice, Tai turning back to find it settled on; 'DAIYO' vs 'NAYUKI DABURU'. Both snickering at the chance to display their skills, Nayuki made his way down, the last veiled member of Kurata's team while Daiyo sauntered joyfully past Keenan and Torune.

Torune watched him walk past and narrowed his brows into an arch, _Daiyo… you may be stronger than him, but you have to take battle seriously…_

Keenan, his vacant expression still loosely worn, narrowed his stiff facial features into a sneer at Daiyo's back, his fang markings on his cheeks and black eyes forming around the look, _… Idiot…._

Now face to face, the pair awaited Kuzan's signal, both with glimmers in their eyes and a shimmering expression of arrogance on them, Daiyo excelling with his habitually closed eye.

"Begin," Kuzan signalled, cutting through the air.

Nayuki guffawed behind his veil, "Unlike that fool Muto, I do not let my defences down before people, even if they are as weak looking as you."

"Good strategy," Daiyo applauded, reached for the bandage strap around his right arm, "however, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," he affirmed, slamming the wrapped up bindings of the Black Widow down like a gavel.

Nayuki tinged to this bandaged threat, _Everyone here is saving their summons and trying to do this alone unless desperate… his personality I just tested shows he's confident in going it alone, meaning he has something in those bandages he'll rely on… in that case…_

He leapt forward, his arm crossed across his chest, thrust in a back fist motion to Daiyo, who managed to catch it in his palm, surprised when the arm began slithering around him like a serpent, next Nayuki's leg became fluid and wrapped around his leg and his other arm around Daiyo's neck.

Sweatdropped but not deterred in his arrogant approach, Daiyo forced his neck to twist against the arm around to look into the eyes above the veil, "So… your body has been altered in some way…"

Confident now that the Black Widow plonked on the tiled floor, Nayuki smirked beneath his linen face concealer, "Yes it has; to be able to fit in any space and gather information, I had my body altered and joints loosened, allowing me to control my limp body with my chikara… it's an effective battle tactic and defensive tactic. Besides that, surrender, or I squeeze your neck until it snaps."

Daiyo snorted, sweating heavily at the constricted air flow.

"I don't know what you have in that mobile mummy, but whatever it is, you can't use it like this. Make it easy on you and me and surrender before I have to tighten my squeeze."

"Why… should I? You're the one who'll die, because I have the fortitude to actually kill," Daiyo expressed haughtily, Nayuki angered and in one swift motion, his neck snapped, his head bobbing down.

"Idiot… I told you-!" Nayuki froze. The body he was wrapped around was not falling down, and the head twirled around to face him, half of it broken off to reveal an eye surrounded by wood beneath the mask, the disguise bursting off as six wooden jointed arms burst out, wrapping around Nayuki in a tight hold, "This is a puppet!"

The Black Widow holding him was like a demonic visual of a human with six arms jointed and bolted, a large cape like gown and a puppet face with bulging eyes with almost hypnotic patterned eyes.

The bandaged Widow ruffled, a black gloved hand coming out and gripping at a particular section of bandaging and tugging hard, the entire bandage wrapping coming off and revealing Daiyo, hunched over in the middle with his other hand tightened, a hazy blue hue extending from his fingertips to the puppet.

Nayuki understood immeadietly after seeing the faint blue strings, "A puppeteer! He uses the Voodoo Technique!"

Daiyo snickered, tightening his palm as screams came from his opponent, popping and snaps coming from his body as the Widow tightened its grip, breaking several bones beneath the neck.

"I QUIT!"

"But snapping your bones into mush will make you better at that freakish technique, won't it?"

Kuzan coughed as Daiyo released Nayuki, who flopped unconscious on the ground, "This battle can't be continued; the winner is Daiyo of the Sandstorm."

Tai looked down and turned to Satsuma and Kudamon, "Hey, isn't that two against one?"

Kudamon explained, "No, the puppet is a tool he utilized, same as a shuriken or kunai, so it is allowed. Although you can only find puppeteers in the Land of Air."

Sora added, "He's using the Voodoo Technique, also known as Puppet Manipulation Technique, which allows him to control a puppet with his chikara and use it in battle; he's simply a puppet master of the Sandstorm is all," looking down as Daiyo wrapped the Widow up in bandages again, she blanched, _Everyone here uses chikara manipulation to its fullest… so much for my advantage._

"There's a bunch of weirdos here!" Tai complained. First it was the Surugan user, then the guy with deathly high fives, then the guy with bugs and now a puppet user, and yet they somehow all fit in their own way with the idea of a Tamer, "How can these guys possibly be used in sneaking missions and stuff?"

Kudamon quipped, "Coming from the one who revealed his position in battle to an O'rin back in the Land of Squalls."

"Good one," Sora giggled, stopping when Satsuma bent over and tapped her shoulder, pointing at the screen. Looking over, she felt her insides fall into the depths as she read; 'SORA TAKENOUCHI' vs 'MIMI TACHIKAWA'.

Apparently Mimi was surprised, releasing a small gasp, looking across to Sora, both pairs of eyes meeting and just as quickly running away, returning their glares with a small sneer to each other.

…

Both now faced each other in the centre of the arena, Kuzan prepared to begin the match before Mimi spoke up with a rather meagre tone, "I never thought… that you'd be the one I'd have to hurt, especially after the whole thing in the Forest…"

Sora didn't voice her objections, but just moved and grabbed one end of her headband, pulling the entire thing from the top of her head, the two stars of the roughly cut ribbon now visible to everyone, hitting Mimi the hardest.

Harima puffed out a new cigarette again, apparently having the lungs of an air conditioner as it didn't affect him, _Mimi may look like a malignant annoyance on the surface, coupled with her desire to look good with makeup and her hair dye, but she is exceptionally talented among the female graduates, but will she be able to pull it out of her against Sora?_

Joe sighed, "Those two… this'll drag on, but there is no way Sora can win without a miracle."

JP leaned on the railing, placing his chin on his arms, "I hope Mimi will be okay…"

Sora's mind drifted as time seemed to slow down around her, recalling her class years ago when she was seven, just after making a friend in Mimi.

oOo

_Mimi and Sora sat toward the right of a large group of girls, all students of the school, and their female teacher stood before them, sporting glasses, makeup and graceful robes, speaking in conjunction with tapping the bridge of her glasses, "Today girls, we'll be practising fitting in with the culture of an infiltrated area. You will all need to be able to adopt the various cultures of women quickly and act with grace, something men do not have the pleasure of enjoying. I want you all to go out onto the blooming fields and pick several beautiful flowers for a bouquet and bring them back for assessing."_

_The scene shifted to a flowery field, like a grounded rainbow in various forms, the girls all rummaging through, the seven year olds doing a meticulous examination of the species that ranged from delphiniums to roses._

_Mimi and Sora were both sat under the shade of a tree, Mimi already with a packed bouquet while Sora had straggled and picked only three she liked; a sunflower, a rose and a lily, all of which contrasted greatly in colour, texture and bloom._

_Contrary to how other girls were raised to be delicate, she had recently learned to enjoy the sport passed down from the original pioneers from the Real World; soccer. Her nose had a bandaid across the bridge and her boyish clothes (jean shorts and a blue sweater) were tattered from the game._

_Perhaps that is why she was left out, since she played a boy's game and wore covering clothes instead of skirts and blouses. Mimi accepted her, but that was by the mercy of fate._

_Walking across under the looming tree shadow, Sora sat next to Mimi with a small, unnatural blush, "I'm no good at this stuff… I'm not like the others; I don't pick flowers every day, I play soccer… can you help me so that they don't laugh at my bouquet again?"_

_Mimi looked at her and her very… interestingly assorted three flowers and nodded gently, with a warm smile, "Sure, after all, what is a botanist in training if not helpful?"_

"_Botanist?"_

"_Oh, it means I work with flowers all the time in the family shop… don't worry, I know how to help you. Tell me, what is your personality like? Describe yourself and I'll help pick the flowers that suit you."_

_Sora pulled a hand to her mouth in thought, almost retracting into herself as she thought of a natural, girly trait she had, "Um… I… I like hanging out with you and your friends…"_

_Mimi smiled, "Well, that's one you got right! A red rose, like that one, signifies love for friends and family… among others," she leaned forward with a devious grin, causing the girl to blush heavily scarlet._

_Mimi was the complete antithesis of Sora, so confident, yet so devious, "I… don't like making jokes that hurt people…"_

_Mimi snapped her dainty fingers, "That's it! Innocent… which means," she thought hard for a second, "Daisies!"_

_Running to a seemingly pre-ordained area, she returned, at least five full grown daisies and three more red roses in her arms, all of which she carefully arranged around Sora's large lily, bloomed auburn like her hair all the while discarding the sunflower._

_Sora looked at the bouquet, astounded at how much better her only friend had made it in such a short time, "Why around my lily? It sticks out to much!"_

_Mimi smiled, "You need a main flower, and lilies represent the sky. You do know that 'Sora' means 'sky', don't you; it is your main flower, and you picked it, almost like fate or something!"_

_Sora stared at her happily, "I'm… not that hopeless as a girl?"_

"_Nope!" Mimi spouted, rousing a giggle while she pulled a cosmos flower from her own bouquet and put it in her hair, "You see how girly it is to have a main flower that shows people who you are? Don't I look cute with the cosmos?"_

"_K-kinda…" Sora anxiously quipped, trying to make a joke._

"_What do you mean 'kinda'?" Mimi jovially intercepted, the two sharing a giggle._

"_Tomboyouchi… really making an effort now, aren't we?" Sora froze, looking back at the large, looming girl behind her, easily a full head over her; it was one of her bullies, surrounded by two of her own cruel friends, "But still, a tomboy is a tomboy… sure you shouldn't be practicing Tekina with the boys right now?"_

_Mimi felt angry as she watched Sora's quivering form before the standing obelisk of one of her bullies, grabbing three of her iris flowers and throwing them like kunai into the bully's mouth, roots first and sending her onto her rear._

"_Sekai!" both her friends called, helping her up._

"_Mimi!" Sekai viciously spat, the flower roots still in her mouth._

_Mimi smirked, grabbing three more irises, "Careful; irises aren't meant to be ingested- they can sometimes be poisonous."_

"_SENSEI!" Sekai called, the three running away to rinse her mouth._

"_-Of course, none of that is true." Mimi ended, a devilish glint in her eye while she stuck her tongue out to feign klutziness at not telling her._

_Sora was grateful, the frail tomboyish girl looking at the ground she sat on, focusing on her knees while thinking how much better Mimi was than her, evidenced by the kunai techniques that were vastly superior to hers, the intelligence she would one day surpass and finally the physical and mental strength she had; Sora would have never messed with a girl bigger than her, but might have gone to her teachers instead._

"_Sora," Mimi sternly beckoned, having seen the glimmering water developing beneath Sora's eye, "don't feel like your worse than me; your just budding, and everyone starts off like that. One day you'll bloom into a strong person, much stronger than me."_

"… _Impossible…" she slowly contradicted in her wallowing downer._

"_No, it's not. You have the strength of being kind, loving and friendly, like your flowers. But you main flower makes you better than me; the sky is you're limit."_

"_The… sky? Like my namesake?"_

"_You got it; ignore those losers; be you!" _

oOo

"The sky…" Sora whispered to herself, her ribbon headband still in her hand, grabbing both ends and tying it correctly over her forehead, Mimi watching on, getting in a battle stance after noticing the ferocity and strength in her eyes compared to then, "Is my limit…"

"Begin!" Kuzan called as time sped up for her again.

Sora immediately reached into her pouch, pulled out three kunai and threw all three, Mimi squinting slightly to see them. Grabbing one as it came by her face, Mimi deflected one of the kunai and grabbed the other, throwing it back at Sora, who leapt high with chikara and threw a shuriken at Mimi.

The shuriken twirled around Mimi three times, beginning to scare her as she wondered why the throwing star neglected hitting her, noticing sheen in the air; a wire connecting the kunai she held and the shuriken, directing it around her. Releasing the kunai, Mimi focused and used a chikara boost to lunge up into the air, the wire flailing and falling with the kunai and shuriken as she ascended.

Sora readied, a fist coiled for a downward punch as Mimi came in reach, throwing it, the pink haired girl catching it and pulling Sora for a punch of her own, only to find Sora twirled the pair in mid-air, kicking off of Mimi, the girl heading for the wall over Keenan's callous and unperturbed head.

Mimi twirled in a frontal flip through the air, planting her feet on the wall and jumping back for Sora with haste, catching her in mid-air, passing through her body, _An none-solid clone; an illusion!_

Mimi curved her body and skidded on the tiled floor after landing, Sora's intangible illusion, diversionary clone technique fading, Mimi stunned to barely catch a fist next to her face, Sora beside her, forcing her to pace back and prepare.

Throwing a fist to her, Mimi cocked her head to the side, grasped the extended wrist and readied an upward thrust palm, Sora lifting her chin in time to dodge it, throwing her other hand onto Mimi's shoulder in conjunction with the first, placing a foot on her knee and throwing her back like a teeter tot, the pink hair flailing in the air and the girl bouncing off the tiles, curving in the air, skidding across the floor and reassuming her stance, Sora matching it with a battle stance also.

"TOTALLY AWESOME!" Tai called out, "YOU GO SORA!"

"See," Joe pointed out hubrisly, irking Tai, "I told you Mimi would be holding back against her; she's hardly gone for a blow!"

"What'd you say, Happy Moron Number Two?"

"You wanna make something of what I said Tai, 'cause you'll lose if you do."

"YOU SON OF A-!"

Thomas's shrill, overconfident tones angered Tai further, "Really? All of their training, and that's as good as the females can get at Tekina?"

Yoshi naturally defended her gender, "It's not because of their gender, Thomas; those two are just sizing each other up before fighting; they don't have the chikara reserves you boys have to waste after all."

Back down in the arena, the girls were on the move again, Sora performing the following seals as she went; Tiger, Boar, Ox and Dog, two clones appearing beside her and approaching Mimi, who darted her eyes to and thro trying to identify the steadily approaching Soras. Determining the one she thought was real, she bypassed two and headed for the one to the left, punching her in the stomach, making her cough as the clones vanished. Going for another one, Mimi left her mid-section open and susceptible, Sora kicking her away, the two gasping for air.

"Is this really bothering you?" Sora asked her, "You do realise I'm not seeing the fire you have when I talk about Matt… of course, there is no need; you're not a threat to that anymore."

"What was that?" Mimi beaconed, her tongue almost laced in warning and foreboding poison.

"You and Matt were never a good fit anyway, Mimi. That and the fact that I have far surpassed you kind of makes you… irrelevant."

Mimi shuddered in anger, "Watch who you're talking to, Jack-O Lantern… I'm warning you, you don't want to ride this train!"

"I'm getting shudders," Tai indicated giving a 'brr' sound to make a point, "why is Sora being so confrontational? Mimi's out of her mind crazy!"

Satsuma hummed, Kudamon silently watching it unfold, "Sora has never bragged about her strength before, and certainly doesn't enjoy hurting other people's feelings… she wants to rile Mimi up so that she'll get serious and won't pity her for old times' sake."

Sora stared daggers at the agitated, pink haired little princess character before her, _The sky is my limit… then she's a glass ceiling blocking me! I need to break through it before I can reach the sky and become a great Tamer instead of a great burden like before!_

oOo

_Back in the fields after Mimi had scared Sekai and her goon like friends away, Sora looked helplessly back at the caramel haired seven year old, "Mimi… do you really think someone… like me could reach the sky of potential?"_

"_Of course!" she instantly said._

"_Why… did you give me this ribbon?" Sora patted the blue ribbon with stars wrapped around her crown and the nape, holding her bob cut hair in check, "I mean, it has helped with the 'Tomboyouchi' thing like you said… but still, why would you give it to me?"_

_Mimi took a deep, prolonged breath of the fragrent air in the flower engulfed field, "I thought a bud like you wouldn't be good wilting away like that… someone as pretty as you and with your potential shouldn't be crying alone like that; no one should."_

_Sora smiled for a flickering moment, but it dropped, "What about Tai?"_

"_He's stupid and a boy; but he's got friends that hang around him every now and again; you had no one being your friend, and you wilted. A bud like you will bloom into a beautiful flower someday."_

_Sora's chin crumpled and she bit her lip._

"_Sora, what's wrong?"_

"_I got something in my eye…"_

oOo

Sora's expression softened, _Mimi… I kept the ribbon for all these years because I believed in your words… I wanted them to be true for someone as useless as me; but now that this chance to prove myself has come, you're being sentimental. I want an all-out fight with you._

Mimi was also deep in thought, recalling the things she had remember in the Forest.

_-_ _Face it, Mimi, I'll win this time… your run of superiority is over…_

_-As if, Sora, you're still gutless and talentless, so you can't beat me no matter how hard you try._

_-I wonder about that…_

Mimi smirked, removing the headband wrapped around her waist like a belt and pulling it to her forehead, _'The headband is the signal of bravery and strength in the active Tamer, male or female', the oldest rule in the book to wear it with pride… I understand, Sora._

Mimi placed the headband over her forehead, her pink bangs overcoming most of it as she tightened the ends, both headband wearing girls entering battle postures, ready to become serious female Tamers at last.

xxx

_Yamato's Tamer Technique Knowledge,_

_Clone Technique,_

_A very, very basic technique taught in the school as one of the first Genina learned. It is considered the most basic of techniques, and those who cannot perform this decoy technique are considered unworthy of the Tamer name._

_It includes parting chikara into an intangible clone, controlling how it moves like a doll through willpower alone. In the most basic sense, it is creating an illusionary decoy of oneself that cannot be attacked._

xxx

**A/N: **Four matches down already as the preliminaries continue.

Please review!


	18. Episode Eighteen

**A/N: **And we are back with chapter eighteen, and all is looking well as we head toward the main section of battles in the preliminaries.

Much blood, adrenaline and action is on its way.

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Eighteen: Females Battle! Women Dangerous, Women Scorned!**_

...

_Tamer Villages Census Results_

_The Hidden Terra Village – 4/5 Population, 3/5 Incoming Cash Flow, 5/5 Mission Success Rate, 4/5 Military Might, Third Senksha in Service_

_The Hidden Tide Village – 2/5 Population, 2/5 Incoming Cash, 3/5 Mission Success Rate, 2/5 Military Might, No Ekisha (Pending replacement after the Fourth, Kouichi Minamoto, vanished)_

_The Hidden Storm Village – 5/5 Population, 4/5 Incoming Cash, 3/5 Mission Success Rate, 5/5 Military Might, Fourth Raisha in Service_

_The Hidden Sandstorm Village – 2/5 Population, 3/5 Incoming Cash, 4/5 Mission Success Rate, 3/5 Military Might, Fourth Kukisha in Service_

_The Hidden Dust Village – 5/5 Population, 2/5 Incoming Cash, 2/5 Mission Success Rate, 5/5 Military Might, Third Chikyusha in Service_

…

Mimi and Sora stared at each other with eyes shadowed by their headbands, a cold silence enveloping the Hall of Conflict with everyone watching in silence, waiting for them to recommence their battle.

Sora began with a charge, forging the seals of Tiger, Boar, Ox and Dog and replicating herself with two illusionary clones, all three quickly twisting around each other while running to confuse Mimi.

But she had her eyes fixed on the correct one, every step of the way and readied herself, Sora forming the Tiger seal with a wide smile on her face, _Focus chikara in all of our feet for a quick burst of speed and then explode!_

All three had formed the seal and focused the energy to the soles of their feet, flickering with awe inspiring speed for a female Tamer, one clone flashing before Mimi before she could blink and erupting into smoke to disorientate her, the other clone cutting through for a kick but passing through her as a diversion while the real Sora punched Mimi in the cheek, sending her careening back along the tiled floor with a yipe, wiping blood from her mouth when she regained balance on a knee.

"AWESOME, SORA!" Tai rallied a cheer again as the battle stood still, another staredown happening.

Satsuma concurred, "She has greatly improved since the start of this Exam."

"W-wait," Tai blemished, "you mean she's doing better than me?"

"Without a doubt, she's got greater control of her techniques, chikara and timing," Kudamon pointed out much to the big haired K'rin's dismay, "to be able to accurately control chikara at any time is beyond an ordinary rookie… she may be better than Matt in that regard."

Both Mimi and Sora charged, each coiling their right fists and throwing them at each other, both catching them in their left hands, their arms quivering at the strain; they were practically equal in strength.

Pulling closer together, still in the same fist holding positions, Mimi and Sora looked at each other dead in the eyes, lips peeled back to reveal grinding teeth at each other before pulling out, both lunging back with large jumps.

In her jump, Mimi reached down to her right leg to the kunai holster, snapping the clasp open and pulling out a kunai, Sora mimicking and pulling out a kunai as well, both throwing them into the other knives, twirling in the air with a clang as they stopped flying through the air and landed.

Marcus looked down with analytical eyes, _Sora is powerful, no question about it, but her opponent is great as well… they have equal strength, skills and timing; this could be a long, arduous battle unless one of them outsmarts the other._

…

Ten minutes later, and the Tekina parrying and kunai and shuriken collisions went on, the only difference being that they were getting slower with their moves, panted at every pace and were running low on tools.

Tai's mouth was open; he was aghast at how long the girls were taking in the preliminaries, feeling deja vu as Sora threw four one-two punches, all of which were parried by Mimi.

"Well… she's got talent at attrition, I'll give her that…" Satsuma callously voiced, laughing disbelievingly.

Kuzan was not amused, his internal clock clicking at almost eleven minutes since the start with nothing new, destructive or productive happening to interest the sickly O'rin, _I wonder if I should make the call soon…_

Mimi reeled back another right hand punch, _When did she get so strong?_

Sora followed suit, pulling back her right hand and tightening it into a fist, _She's just as strong as I thought, but I can do this!_

Both put all of their weight, thrust and focused chikara in their push off foot for maximum momentum, both fists landing on target and forcing them to soar back, skidding on the tiles and coughing for bubbles of air to sustain them.

Joe assumed a passive look, "At this rate, unless Mimi gets serious, she'll be worn out."

"Don't try and make our team sound better," Harima growled, "that girl is giving Mimi a run for her money, plain and simple; don't tarnish it by faking that she's still showing restraint."

Joe chided, but nowhere near as voraciously as Mimi herself, "There is no possible way you can be equally matched with me- you were a crybaby!"

Sora felt chuffed and released a small, snide and calculating snigger, "Of course I'm your equal; how could I be inferior to someone who frets over her pink hair all day?"

Mimi ground her teeth and chided, "Disrespect me one more time, and you'll regret it!"

"Try me."

Mimi snapped, forging the seals of Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram, Sora and everyone recognizing it as the Summoning seals, Sora hastily following up by performing the seals, both girls slamming their palms to the tiles beneath, smoke arising.

JP seemed unnerved, "Sora's really sent her over the edge if she's gonna summon Palmon!"

Joe also, but with more restraint, blabbed, "Forget over the edge, she isn't letting Sora have much of a chance anymore!"

Harima let out a puff of billowing smoke, _So she's going for her own attack formation, is she? Let's just see if it'll work, because I've only told them that summoning Digimon partners was as a final resort, but Sora's smart… she may counterbalance your tactic, Mimi._

Palmon, a green rooted Digimon with a purple flower as makeshift hair with bulging emerald eyes, stood next to Mimi with a viciously down to earth look of seriousness on her face, matching her partner, a near mirror image as Biyomon came forth from the smoke cloud, a serious look on her beaked face beside Sora as the teams sized each other up.

"Palmon, let's do it!" Mimi rallied, charging forward in a flash at her former best friend and rival, throwing a punch that was easily caught. But the aim of it was to lure her into a trap, as she replicated the teeter tot throw Sora had done, but the auburn haired girl flipped in the air and skid across the tiled flooring ans into Palmon's extendible vine claws, wrapping around Sora with her attack, Poison Ivy.

Biyomon noticed the fast exchange and rose into the air, flapping her wings rapidly for maximum swirl in her green energy before firing it off in a twisting energy blast, Palmon forced to retreat and retract her vines to avoid the blast, Sora immediately taking off the floor toward Mimi, drawing her last shuriken and kunai, giving a low nod to the bird before throwing the kunai at her.

Catching it, Mimi noticed the sheen of a wire connecting the two tools again, scoffing at the simplicity of the trap and leaping when the shuriken twirled around again, only to find Biyomon in her face high up above the floor.

"Sorry," Biyomon apologized, flapping her wings and creating two baubles sized, pyre like flames, a baby version of her Birdramon attack, "_Double Fire!_"

Tai was amazed at the exchange as the Mimi in the air turned out to be a basic clone, allowing the fire to pass harmlessly into the air, "This is cool! Way cooler to watch then the boy matches!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Kudamon contradicted, "they are pulling out all the stops like a battle between boys seeing as they're getting exhausted. These are their last techniques of this battle."

Mimi fired back at Sora on the ground in a flurry exchange of fists and expert Tekina kicks, none passing in for a blow, all of them parried while Palmon whipped at the air for Biyomon with her vines, missing the agile bird but getting closer each time.

"That is it!" Mimi screeched in aggrevation, leaping back from her punch that was parried again, putting a good ten feet between her and Sora as the fight and Digimon halted, Mimi's face resembling a satanic deity of wrath.

_-You and Matt were never a good fit anyway, Mimi. That and the fact that I have far surpassed you kind of makes you… irrelevant._

Mimi slapped her hands into the Tiger seal, the rest of Squad Ten jumping toward the guardrail in surprise, leaning so far across they threatened falling, Joe voicing in a hushed voice of disbelief, "No way… she wouldn't use it in one on one combat… would she?"

Mimi shifted her hands from the chikara building Tiger seal, thrusting her hands forward in her odd diamond hand seal, her furthest two fingers outstretched from the seal.

JP berated, "That moron's gonna use the _Spiritual Possession Technique_!"

Harima rubbed his eyes, "That idiot… always so hotheaded!"

_That seal…, _Sora thought on its shape and recognized it from her studies in the school, "Listen, I get that you're exhausted, but don't you think some collecting of your thoughts is needed? That is useless in combat situations. The original technique developed by the Tachikawas, the _Spiritual Possession Technique_, whereby you project a harmless virus from your body's own data into another, allowing you to assume control of their body for a few minutes… a great spying technique, but there are incredible flaws with it."

Satsuma blinked behind his shades, "One is that the virus projected can only move at a slow speed, and requires the attention of the body hacker to keep it moving in a straight line. The other is that if it misses, the person who cast it cannot return to their body for several minutes, making them no less than a comatose doll who can only breathe on its own. A truly devastating weapon, but it is a little different in live, on the move combat."

Harima puffed out a fresh cloud of smoke from his third cigarette since the prelims began, _But it is still originally aimed at spying; combat is a different matter. Mimi isn't skilled enough to apply it in such circumstance, so all Sora has to do is move when she casts it and Kuzan will have to declare her unable to continue… has she thought this through, or is she stubborn enough to succumb to rage and forget her strategy?_

Joe adjusted his glasses, _The only time its useful for her in combat is with my shadow mimicry binding the enemy still… she's out of her mind, Sora can easily dodge!_

Sora dipped to her right after noticing a twitch in the handsign, Mimi calling it out, "_Spiritual Possession Technique!_"

Both Sora and Mimi flounced, their heads bobbing down and Mimi's body limply falling to her knees with a dullness that seemed louder than anything in the room. Biyomon hovered above, staring down at Sora, neglecting to dodge the vines whipping at her, sending her on a rough slab of reinforced concrete beside Kenta's own dent, conjoining it with cracks made with her own body, the bird flopping from the wall and writhing.

Sora chuckled, lifting her head up almost painstakingly slow.

Joe leant on the railing, "Which is it? Did she miss?"

Sora's head fully rose, her eyes glimmering with joy, "Such a shame you missed, Mimi!"

Harima cooed, slapping his forehead, "That idiot… now she's lost the match!" he shook resiliently and looked again, noticing an abnormality in the scene, and by the composure of Kuzan, the sickly O'rin had notice it to, _Not bad, Mimi!_

Sora just had to hit Mimi's body once to have it declared as a knockout, taking a pace forward, her leg stricken by something, pulling her back into place, the auburn haired K'rin looking down to find vines spouted through the tiles beneath her, hinging her legs and holding her, no matter how much she competed with the floral protrusions of the ground.

"Finally," that voice… there was no way, "letting your guard down, Jack O-Lantern?" Mimi giggled, her limp body straightening up and standing.

"No way…" Sora said, a faint tone of defeat in her voice as she followed the vines beneath the tiles, following several cracks that formed a route, all of the way to Palmon, "you mean you just distracted me from Biyomon and Palmon with your fit while she used her vines to grab me?"

"Exactly," the pink haired princess exclaimed excitedly on her feet, "you really think someone as weak as you could really make me have a fit? Don't be ridiculous! But you understand now, don't you? With Palmon holding you, I've got no chance of missing, and all I have to say in your body is that you quit."

"Incredible wit," Kudamon praised.

Sora gasped when Mimi alleviated her hands in the Tachikawa seal again, "No!"

"Now," Mimi's eyes focused behind her hand seal, "_Spiritual Possession Technique!_"

Tai and Marcus gulped as both heads bobbed again, Mimi's body falling limply to her knees and Palmon releasing the vines before bursting into smoke, sent back to the village.

Harima smirked, rubbing his head, mulling, _There it is… that's how I knew Mimi was still in her body; the trouble with the summoning seal and the Spiritual Possession is that the seal effects the body, and is activated abruptly if a Tachikawa leaves their body with the seal on them. Not that it matters, it was a successful transfer._

"Such a shame," Sora's body happily giggled, "Sora!"

"Sora…" Marcus's big brotherly reaction was laced with concern beside Tai, the latter giving a gasp at noticing that Sora wasn't Sora anymore in her body.

"SORA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Tai called out, leaning against the railing.

Joe snickered, _She's at Mimi's mercy right now; it's useless._

"Impressive use of the _Spiritual Possession Technique _in a battle," Satsuma hummed, Tai and Marcus glancing back at him, "with Sora's body now technically hers; Mimi's plan is most likely to force a surrender out of Sora's lips."

"Proctor," Sora's body called, raising a hand for Kuzan to see, "I, Sora Takenouchi, would like to for-,"

"DON'T, SORA!" Tai barked at previously unheard of volumes.

Mimi's mind forced Sora to give a hallowing snarl up at her teammate, _That moron… not only was he stupid, useless and unliked back then, but he's worse now! Doesn't he know when to admit defeat?_

Mimi's possessing mind felt a powerful pang, the girl gripping at Sora's head with her hands to mask the pain.

'HE'S REALLY ANNOYING, ISN'T HE, MIMI?' Sora's voice echoed, Mimi grunting at the headache caused by the voice, 'BUT HE'S RIGHT, I CAN'T LOSE TO A STUPID STRAWBERRY LIKE YOU!'

Mimi's conflicting mind hurt, _Sora…? How can- you're supposed to be supressed!_

"Well, are you giving up?" Kuzan repeated, sweatdropping at the strange actions in the possessed body, _Which of the girls is taking over?_

'HURTS, DOESN'T IT, MIMI?' Sora's voice tauntingly goaded through echo in Mimi's mind, 'GET OUT, OR ELSE YOU'LL BE SORRY!'

"Like hell I'll quit!" Sora, regaining temporary control in the inner conflict barked, Kuzan retracting and watching the K'rin's body.

Mimi regained control for a second, her head pounding, but not recinding her technique until she forged the Tiger seal, releasing the summon Sora cast, Biyomon erupting into a cloud of smoke, vanishing. Reforming the seal to escape the headache, Mimi interlocked her finger arches and extended her thumbs, "_Spiritual Possession… RELEASE!_"

The technique undone, Mimi's body jerked, panting heavily and clutching her head as the pain of the headache stuck in her body, looking vilely at Sora and her ravaged, heavily panting body smiled at her, "You… how did you defeat my technique? You were supposed to be suppressed!"

Harima pondered, _Maybe she didn't have the proper chikara reserves to successfully perform and supress someone's willpower fully…_

Sora coughed, "Didn't you know? Woman need to be tough in this Digital World in order to survive."

Satsuma had a glimmer behind his shades, one of pride, _That technique is not easy to dispel… sure, Mimi clearly didn't have the required level for a K'rin registered user of the technique, but I think it was more Sora's own will to surpass Mimi that led her to be roused and purge the virus entity through Tai's cheer. Unfortunately, by the look of her and Mimi, neither have any chikara left; the final blow is coming._

As if on cue, the two, barely capable of balancing, dashed to each other, both raising their right hand and tightening into coiled fists, the pair coming inches away from releasing the fists. Squad Seven, Ten and Marcus watching intently as the cheeks of the girls quivered beneath the force of their opponents fists, the two flying back and skidding on the ground, flopping limply on their backs.

_-The… sky? Like my namesake?_

_-You got it; ignore those losers; be you!_

Kuzan reviewed the pair of motionless girls and their faint breathing, coughing, "Due to the unforeseen circumstance of a double knockout, the fifth match is a bust; there is no winner advancing!"

"WHAT?"

…

Harima and Satsuma had leapt down to the arena and pryed their female students off of the ground in their arms, looking at each other proudly and lunging back up in one fell swoop with a graceful leap to the second tier, Jeri's team, Marcus, the remainder of Squad Seven and Squad Ten squatting over to inspect the two girls, both propped against the wall, asleep beside each other.

Harima lit another cigarette after placing Mimi down, "Looks like we don't even need medical assistance; they just need about thirty minutes to recover."

Satsuma hummed with a silky purr in his voice, "I can understand Matt or Tai, but even Sora has changed this much in only five days compared to her introverted self before… I'm truly glad I entered them in this; Sora is a stronger person on many fronts thanks to it."

…

Kuzan gestured to the two female combatants, "Rika Nonaka and Jeri Katou, are you both ready for this? When you are ready, you can begin."

Acknowledging, Rika drew a kunai from her pouch and threw it toward Jeri, the nervous girl sidestepping it with a choked squeal of fear, preluding to her complete rotation on her heel, returning with several shuriken Rika individually clamped in her finger arches, throwing them back with astounding force, far greater than many of the boys in the room.

Satsuma passively watched, and narrowed his eyebrows behind his shades, _Her strength is a little improved… so that's the technique of this Storm Tamer_, his eyes shifted down the walkway to Kazu, _I had heard of him from Tai; these Storm and Sandstorm Tamers are incredible._

Looking back down, Jeri had apparently dodged agilely, twisting mid-jump and reaching into her pouch once more, pulling out a kunai she planted in the ground, letting it stand while rifling through her pouch again, pulling out three shuriken connected to the kunai via wires and throwing them toward Rika, the wires pulling and twirling them.

Rika's eyes shot from side to side, the girl performing the Tiger, Boar, Ox and Dog symbols for a basic clone that shot above her; followed by a lightning fast substitution shifting technique with the clone and getting above the shuriken and wiring that simple passed through the clone, Rika's sub bursting into cloud while the real one shot directly toward Jeri.

Jeri grew a broad smile on her gentle face, tugging her right hand back, the string still held in her hand pulling the shuriken back toward Rika, twisting around her and holding her hands in place, her face still cold but with a cold bead falling down her face.

Jeri pulled out her final kunai that still had the wires connected, throwing it in the ground like a grave marker as she performed the seals Dragon, Boar, Dog, Bird and Horse, pulling her fist back and thrusting it toward Rika, "_Fist of the Beast King!_"

The orange energy shot toward Rika, formulating into a lion's head and maw, bursting into a dust cloud with a dull burst explosion, everyone but Tai understanding what had happened.

"Satsuma-sensei! What did that girl just do?" Tai asked.

"That is an example of using your Digivice's functions of recording. She used an attack from a Champion level Digimon called Leomon; while it is using digital energy and not chikara to create the attack, it still exhausts Tamers, especially K'rin, so that was her final strike I assume."

Henry smirked, "Well, I guess that does it; she used that in the Forest o help us with our battles, so I'm guessing she's still too tired to use it again."

Kazu apparently disagreed, Takato shaking his head, "He really can't see through what Rika did, can he?"

Jeri blemished her gentle face by scrunching it, partly from exhaustion, but also from noticing too late, _That felt off… something is seriously wrong!_

"_Diamond Storm!_" Rika called from the ceiling of the Hall of Conflict, using her chikara to grip on while firing pure snow like shards of glass toward Jeri, the girl barely having the strength to sidestep the shards before Rika phased in from a jump behind her, Jeri jerking forward from a double axe handle to the back of her head, the girl falling to the ground, unconscious.

Kuzan walked across, leant over and placed his two fingers to Jeri's neck, noting her pulse was calmed, indicative of her blacking out from blood disruption caused by the blow, "By way of knock out, Rika Nonaka is the winner of this battle!"

Harima arched his brows, _That sudden rush of speed and agility, not to mention the power behind those shuriken and the final blow… that girl passed an electrical charge through her body to massage her muscles and strengthen them… something seen in the Electronic Muscle Genesis of the Nonaka clan. The Storm has sent only the best they have; the third kid, he's got to have some other strange power as well like the Nonaka and the Shioda kid… his surname on the clipboard was… damn, he's a Matsuki; he's got the most dangerous skill of them all! Three of the best clans with hidden techniques fully mastered in the Hidden Storm gathered here as a Squad; are they trying to show us up with their rigorously trained K'rin?_

…

Kuzan stood ready in the arena, Jeri disappearing out of the Hall on a stretcher to rest in the medical room, Kenta following her obligatorily, since Henry had to stay for his match. The green screen flickered the remaining names of competitors, pinging on; 'TSUKI' vs 'YOSHINO FUJIEDA'.

"Another girls match?" Tai grumbled, disappointed his match seemed like an eternity away; he would fight Davis, JP, Joe, Marcus, Thomas and even the kid from the Sandstorm, just to end the immenseness of his boredom. He also wanted a quick match, because his stomach ached and he couldn't remember why…

Kudamon stretched around Satsuma's neck, purring, "Now listen, Tai. It's just luck that made the girls matches come up; think how they feel when it's constantly boys matches."

Down in the battle area, Tsuki and Yoshi faced each other down, Tsuki reaching into her pouch and pulling out a small scroll, looking across to Kuzan, who read the kanji emblazoned and nodded for her to summon her 'BATTLE FAN'.

Rolling it out before her and forming the Horse, Monkey and Ram seal, she pressed the same kanji in the scroll, smoke erupting. When it had billowed away, Tsui placed the scroll back in her pouch, a large, black spined fan at her side, easily three quarters her height.

"Begin!" Kuzan called.

Tsuki didn't move, but a devious smirk and chuckle twigged with Yoshi, the Team Spencer female leaping back from the fellow teenager around three full breadth paces, watching her carefully and readying her hand at her side for quick retrieval from her pouch.

"GO FOR IT, YOSHI!" Marcus cheered with a youthful roar.

The spry Spencer seemed to join in, the middle age man cheering with a thunderous roar, "TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT! WHO DO WE APPRECIATE; YOSHI!"

Standing right beside them was Tai, his ears clamped shut by his hands, "When did these two become cheerleaders; I preferred the silent brooding side of them!"

Thomas was the other member of Team Spencer, but his natural sea blue eyes calmer, "So that's another K'rin of the Sandstorm trio… if she's as devious as her teammate, Yoshi better keep focused," he shifted his eyes up a little at the cold chill he felt beaming at him, his blue eyes looking into Keenan's glassy gold eyes, surrounded by black marks.

The Senksha, the only member of the village to be familiar with all the K'rin and other villagers intimately, knew Yoshi as the capricious thinker, "Keeping her distance for offense and defence… she just needs to have patience until the Sandstorm girl makes her move."

"Well, I'm dying of old age here," Tsuki chortled, clearly goading Yoshi, "if you want me to make a move, I won't. I want you to give me your best shot so I can break your spirit. Well, come on, panda princess."

Yoshi hated people making fun of her two buns, evidenced when she bit her lip and decided to gauge Tsuki, throwing four shuriken in a flash from her pouch, all headed to Tsuki, but when the Sandstorm K'rin's body flickered, her hand at the fan for a moment and then getting back to her side with a distorted wind, the shuriken were deflected and clanged on the floor.

"I missed her?" Yoshi worriedly released, sweatdrops forming at the bottom of her headband, "there is no way she deflected those shuriken!"

Joe rested his head, cradling it in his arms on the railing, "Well that was a shocker; the Sandstorm is gonna win again…"

Tai piqued at this, "Why exactly?"

"Why are you asking the Happy Moron, exactly? Unless you're a moron and can't see the obvious," he goaded in reply.

JP sighed vehemently, "Three is not a good number; the girls can't manage a decent, competitive match with more than one hat trick; Sora and her illusion clones, Mimi and her mind switch, that Rika girl and her weird speed and strength and Jeri with that one attack she learned from her Digimon partner."

Tai grovelled, "Well… yeah, they may not manage a thrilling match with multiple techniques, but still…"

Yoshi sweatdropped and looked at the floor, spacing her eyes, _One, two and three. Three full feet away from her, so she can't have deflected it with some fast ability unless_, her eyes became alight, _I see, the fan is her trick!_

"Well, that was your best shot?" she goaded again, still stood in place, "Let me clarify; you have one chance before I end this. Use it well."

"As you wish!" Yoshi hollered, using her chikara boost to leap high into the air, twisting around and retrieving a scroll from her pouch, twirling it skilfully around her like a coiling spiral around her body with several kanji marks on the scroll. The naturally pink haired girl tapped one of the spinning marks, a kunai bursting forth to Tsuki's seeming delight as a tornado of weapons flayed overhead, the weapons falling like rain toward her; scythes, sickles, kunai, shuriken, claws; literally every weapon used by a Tamer was summoned and thrown like falling rain, "_Generic Summoning; Rain of Pain!_"

Spencer smiled as the weapons began falling and hitting the tiles around Tsuki, smoke and minute fractures of the tile arising, _Ah… I remember working on Yoshi's own style without Lalamon. We worked on it, and eventually found her talent in sealing and summoning techniques, mixing that with her pinpoint aim with a variety of weaponry, this is the devastating result._

Still in the air, Yoshi was astounded at a strong wind that allowed her to have hangtime, seeing the dust blown away by Tsuki, who had a large radius where the weapons where deflected by her wind form techniques.

"As if I'm done with you!" Yoshi barked, landing from her long fall with grace, scowling in Tsuki's direction, "I don't care how you did it; I will stop you!"

"Really?" Tsuki seemed to derive pleasure by the fact that she hadn't budged her feet at all, "Well, you see this fan," Yoshi looked down at it, it was one third open, revealing the kanji for 'BREEZE', "there are the signs for 'TORRENT' and 'SQUALL' on it. When I get to 'SQUALL', you will understand how fruitless this was."

"YOSHI, DON'T LET HER IN YOUR HEAD!" Marcus rousingly called, "FOCUS!"

Yoshi bit her lip once more, closing her eyes in thought as a bead fell down her temple, _I realize that part Marcus… I might need to use it now, or risk being ejected from this match! No, screw 'might', I want to use it; I've got to wipe that sneering, snide girl's smile off!_

Going into her pouch, Yoshi shot and thrust two scrolls before her in a single hand, both tied with string. Busying herself with untying them, Tsuki berated, "More of that? Don't you Terra K'rin ever learn?"

Slamming the two down, the scrolls stood on the roller base at each end while Yoshi encrypted the hand seals Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Hare and Serpent, clapping her hands together as if in prayer, "_Generic Summoning; Thunderclap!_"

Spencer seemed surprised, "She's going to use that in the preliminaries? She must realize the dire situation she's in."

Smoke burst from the two scrolls, the smoke billowing and forming two dragon head, encircling each other like the twin snakes in the air, the smoke blasting off to reveal Yoshi high in the air with two scrolls wrapping around her in a spiral, the same weapon rain falling in double the rate and twice the speed as Yoshi even used her feet (gripping with chikara) to throw weapons.

Tsuki smirked once more, flapping her fan out to the second kanji, now on 'BREEZE, TORRENT' and pending a third, her wind power seemingly improved many times over by a single swipe, deflecting all of the weapons again to the floor with a clanging finality, the scrolls falling on the tiles as well, Yoshi still in the air, flipping to a gymnast like upside down pose, striking and clenching her fingers, tugging wires tied to the tips and pulling the weapons out on the tiles they were planted in.

The weapons soared and halted in mid-air, Yoshi swiping like she had claws with the wires, all of them going for one make it or break it run. Unfortunately, another slash through the air with the two kanji fan tore through this barrage and blew Yoshi back, the girl slamming on the tiled floor, scraping against some of her grounded shuriken before regaining her stance.

"Now it's my turn," Tsuki sniggered darkly, Yoshi grimacing as the Sandstorm thrust the fan out, revealing 'SQUALL'. Pulling it up by the top and grabbing the fan, Tsuki's face contorted with effort as she cut through the air with the fan as if it were thick oil, "_Wind Form, Sickle Air Technique!_"

Yoshi had no chance, the air catching her like a blast and encompassing her body, lifting her in the air around ten feet, the helpless girl being slashed from all over, unable to call for help or scream with the thick air density around her.

Most of the Tamers looked astounded, minus Henry, Keenan, Daiyo and Thomas, the latter looking up with a calm disposition, the antithesis of his sensei and partner, "She fought well… but with Tsuki empowering that wind with her chikara, there's no escape available; it's over."

Spencer grimaced, Marcus voicing his concern, "YOSHI!"

Seemingly at the behest of his booming voice, the cyclone dissipated, and Yoshi went into freefall down to the arena area, Tsuki smiling venomously all the while, clasping her closed Fan and aligning it for the landing, Yoshi's back folding over it with a loud bashing sound and her mouth croaking blood before she passed out, folded over the black spine of the large, propped up fan.

Tai gulped, "That chick is off her rocker… and she's ruthless as well!"

"Yoshi…" Marcus grumbled.

The Third seemed amazed, staring at Tsuki, "This Sandstorm team is more powerful than many K'rin I've seen… they might even be on the same level as T'rin, depending on the boy's performance…"

Tsuki giggled with a dark girlish tone, "Well that was disappointing… what a worthless weakling, you had years of training, and yet you only honed weaponry and not elemental techniques?"

Kuzan stepped forward a pace, "The winner of the seventh match, Tsuki!"

Pulling back on the propped fan like a lever, Marcus leapt down as fast as he could as Yoshi was flung from the fan, barely being caught in Marcus's arms before being impaled on a sickle beneath him.

Leaping back away from the hordes of weapons on the floor, he gently let Yoshi down, "You! What is your major malfunction? She gave her best, and you try to kill her? How heartless are you-?"

"Stuff it where the sun don't shine!" Tsuki spat in response, "Get that garbage off of the arena of K'rin, not girls who think they're Tamers because it's a popular fantasy among children."

"You little-!" Marcus lost it, charging toward her, Kuzan twitching in response, readying to intervene as Marcus leapt up and gave a spin kick into the spine of the fan, the metal ineffective in quelling him as Tsuki obviously showed signs of effort not to be pushed back.

She was more than a little surprised when she had been pushed a full foot with all her might put into stopping him, _He's got some kick, I'll hand him that much!_

"Marcus!" Spencer barked, agitated, flickering in and grabbing his leg, throwing him in the opposite direction of a grimacing smile on the girl's face, "Listen, just calm down before you get disqualified for going on a rampage."

"TSUKI, GET UP HERE." Keenan calmly called with his dull coldness in his throat, "YOU WON THE MATCH, DO NOT WASTE MY TIME BY FORCING ME TO WATCH YOU FIGHTING WITH THAT LOSER AND HIS RIDICULOUSLY OVERZEALOUS SENSEI."

"What did that little brat say?" Marcus snarled, taking a check pace forward, the younger K'rin unfazed by the threat approaching.

Spencer planted a hand on Marcus's shoulder, seemingly rooting him from advancing, "Calm down, now. Yoshi will be fine," he ended with a chuckle, peering fearlessly up into the glassy gold eyes, "a word of warning, however. Insult me as you wish, but don't rile up Marcus. He has… destructive powers, shall we say, that you don't want to test."

"Really?" Keenan questioned with mock in his usually robotic voice, "My breath is bated."

Davis, on the other side of the Hall atop the second tier of Terra and Storm K'rin, blanched, "That guy is crazy… he has no idea the things we saw out there; that kid lives and breathes to spill blood! As long as my match is not against him, I'm fine with it."

…

Sora stirred, two blinding lines of light penetrating the dark and slowly widening, "W-where am I…?"

"Your finally up?" Mimi chided gently beside her, staring into Sora's eyes. Sora's headband had been placed back through her hair and Mimi's around her waist like a belt, "I can't believe this; tying with you and not advancing…"

"Tying?" Sora exclaimed, "I didn't beat you? That was why I fought that hard!"

"You came… very close. But apparently we knocked each other out with our punches, so nobody advanced. You finally broke through the glass ceiling! You are heading for the sky after all!"

"Mimi…" Sora brimmed at the bottom of her eyes, but did not release them.

"Also," Mimi leant over against the wall she lay against to Sora's ear, whispering, "Matt doesn't like pumpkins, Jack O-Lantern. Take a hike with your consolation prize," she gestured with her eyes to Tai's back, Sora growling.

"Well, the same goes for you! Who would want a died out old Strawberry like you! Go check with JP, he just might try out some fruit for once!" she retorted, the pair swinging their heads away haughtily from one another, in comical fashion.

Sora stepped up, Mimi doing the same, both tromping back over to their respective teams.

Standing up beside Tai, she noticed his eyes twitching and his face a deep pale grimace, focusing on Keenan, "Don't worry, Tai! You can take that kid no sweat!"

He jolted, not having noticed her, "Sora! Are you okay? You took a few punches, to say the very least!"

She felt warmth in his concerned tone, but digressed, "Worry about yourself, Tai. If you don't advance here unlike me, Squad Seven will be put to shame! You won't be able to face Matt like a man unless you advance!"

"I guess so…"

Sora looked at him, and saw not only anticipation, but also nerves rocked. What had she missed in the last match exactly?

She breathed in and smiled like a mother, "Tai, thank you for calling out to me in my match… if you hadn't, I would've lost and not drawn with Mimi…"

"Damn right."

"You snippy little-!"

The screen loudly bleeped, the two stopping their go between and looking up, Marcus and Tai hopeful but disappointed; 'JOE KIDO' vs 'SHIORI YAMUI'.

Joe groaned down the walkway, "Of all things, all this pressure and I have to find a gentle way to beat up a girl? Why does it have to be a chick?"

Shindo's revealed eye shifted over to his teammate, "He assimilates shadows and manipulates others with it; watch his shadow carefully."

Shiori cooed in response, "Such a stupid technique won't work on me, not after seeing it in the Forest."

…

Now both in the arena, Shiori and Joe eyed each other, Kuzan signalling for the start of the match.

Joe pocketed his hands, _She's seen my trick, so she has an undoubted advantage with foresight and preparation, but she doesn't strike me as an intellectual… still, I don't know what her techniques are in relation to sound and she knows mine for a fact._

"Begin!" Kuzan called.

Joe reacted instantly, clasping in a Rat seal, a Ram seal with the fingers folded atop the lower index and middle fingers, "_Shadow Mimicry Technique!_"

Shiori chortled as the shadown at his feet became irregular and shot forward toward her, sidestepping to her right and pulling several senbon from her pouch, throwing them toward him, "That shadow has no effect if I move, right? You can't move it well enough to catch me!"

Ducking and releasing the Rat seal, Joe looked back at the senbon that had penetrated the concrete behind him, noticing particularly the baubles beneath them, "Bells? This is an old one… while I react to the bell bearing needles, you also throw in some without to tax my senses… a very basic idea…"

Shiori snickered, making him think he missed something, "YOU SURE DO TALK A LOT; WHY NOT ADMIT YOUR CLUELESS?" she jeered darkly, throwing more senbon his way.

Dodging the three swiftly, Joe pondered, _She's not using hand seals so far and is keeping her distance… is she a senbon specialist? Whatever it is, her technique requires senbon, knowing the tactic of belled needles, this should be easy-!_

Joe quivered at a stinging ring in his ears, grinding him to a halt. His body was stiff at the ringing behind him, looking back with a cold sweat to see the five bells shifting by fine string Shiori held.

"I get it!" Joe mumbled as if in a stupor, "You specialize in a paralysis Seiina by the use of sound! As long as it is linked to one of the five senses, you can cast a Seiina; it was stupid of me to discount it!"

"It was," Shiori hissed to the paralysed boy, throwing two senbon into his shoulder and forearm when he defended himself, making him fall back by his lack of balance, "Now, to end it!"

She found herself flouncing, sticking in place, unable to move. Looking down, she saw no shadow out of the ordinary. Joe stood, released from the Seiina since the strings were not ringing the bells any longer, "Well, it took some time to work through it, but your body is mine to control."

"But I was so careful! Your shadow isn't even connected!" Shiori frivolously argued, releasing the senbon in her hand with Joe's manipulative movement.

Joe laughed lowly, "Idiot… these senbon you threw at me have strings attached too! Even the finest things cast a shadow for me to use like a jumpstarting catalyst. The second you went for the kill, it was decided!"

Joe reached into his pouch and pulled out a single shuriken. Following him, Shiori forcibly followed, shaking in an effort to stop. The two now both held shuriken at the ready, Shiori sweating, "Are you out of your mind? You know that we mimic each other! You'll get hurt too!"

"I know!" Joe relayed, throwing his shuriken for Shiori's head.

Repeating his moves, Shiori threw toward his head, "You're out of your mind!"

The two had shuriken mere inches from their faces, both ducking backwards obligatorily.

Shiori smiled, relieved that her head wouldn't be cut into. But that drained from her when the shuriken ceased course over her head, a pounding pain bringing blackness and forcing her to pass out after hitting the wall.

Joe, on the otherhand, was in the middle of the arena, and did a backward roll to his knees, "Always remember your surroundings in battle; such a basic rule and you disobeyed it after I forced you back with my shadow at the start!"

Kuzan seemed beyond impressed, coughing sickly and announcing, "The winner is Joe Kido!"

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_Finally, my chance is here! Davis is nobody after all!_

_Wait… he's tough…! I'm liking this fight more and more each second!_

xxx

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed! See you next time!

Please review!


	19. Episode Nineteen

**A/N: **Well, nineteen chapters, and nearly 150,000 words… I'm loving it!

Little note ahead of time; Tai isn't as hopeless in his fight with Davis as Naruto was against Kiba, simply put, he is smarter and more meticulous in the battles he can fight in evenly, not like ones against Bashiori and the like.

**Karifan: Kari is coming later in my own story arc, so please simmer down.**

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Nineteen: Tai's Growth! Family Rivalry Erupts!**_

…

_K'rin Reference Book,_

_Yoshino Fujieda_

_Age: 15_

_Family Unit: Mother, Father_

_O'rin Sensei: Spencer_

_Missions Completed: 20 D Rank, 13 C Rank, 0 B Rank, 0 A Rank (S Rank N/A)_

_Conclusions: A master weapons specialist, Yoshino clearly has the talent to be a prospect of a long distance reconnaissance and assassination Tamer, given her high precision and near perfect aim, in addition to her advanced summoning scroll abilities._

…

"Way to go, Joe!" Mimi and JP cheered like fawning fools from the upper tier, Joe looking up blankly at them before making his way over to the steps, Shiori being stretchered away by medical staff.

"Even he looked sort of cool…" Tai grumbled, crossing his arms childishly, "damn it!"

Shindo's one revealed eye glittered darkly, _I told her to be careful. Well, I'm the only one who can save us total disgrace now._

Davis counted nervously with his fingers as the screen began flickering names again, "Well, there's me, Tai, Thomas, Marcus, Henry, Takato, the Sound guy, Mikoto, JP and that kid with the sand… as long as it isn't the pipsqueak from the Sandstorm, I should be alright…"

Thomas was leaning back coolly on the concrete wall behind him, his blue eyes tranquil, "This year's batch of K'rin look like quite the challenge…" his eyes focused into a dark scowl, looking down to Mikoto vilely, the tenuous girl flinching when catching his glare.

"Now, the next match is," Kuzan indicated, the screen stopping it's flickering, revealing two large, yellow kanji names; 'TAICHI KAMIYA' vs 'DAVIS MOTOMIYA', "will these two please come down from the viewing area promptly?"

"FINALLY!" Tai happily released, hunching over the railing and shaking his fist, "COULD YOU HAVE MADE THE MATCH ANY EASIER?"

Davis was a mirror like clone of Tai, "Such an easy fight to win… this must be a higher power, wanting me to breeze through; Tai's nothing!"

…

Down in the arena, the two boisterous fighters stared each other down, devious smirks on their faces while Kuzan cut through the air, "When you are ready, you may commence."

"Oh, this will be over in a flash!" Davis snickered, irking Tai further and further.

"Try me, pansy boy."

Davis twitched his brow angrily, still holding up his smile as if it were a bridge, his effort obvious.

"DON'T LOSE TO THAT JERK, TAI!" Sora beckoned with a cheer.

Tenma Suou, Squad Eight's O'rin sensei, seemed content in her team's victory, _I've looked over Tai's statistics and records before, so sorry, Satsuma! You're boy hasn't got a hope to depend on against Davis; his speed and strength are far beyond Tai's!_

Mikoto was torn, doing her habit of pressing her index fingertips together, a faint pink on her cheeks, _I really want to cheer Tai… but Davis might get mad, and I am on his team, so I really should…_

Davis smirked hubristically, _I don't know what new moves he's got or whether he's gotten stronger, but he better hope he's better than 'that', like he was in the school. He was a complete loser, unable of transforming or creating clones of any kind; he was the bottom of the heap. I, on the other hand, have a few moves of my own… let's see him keep up with my Tekina first of all, then I'll try Genina if he's still standing._

Tai had thoughts of his own, _Okay, I have the Shadow Body Splitting, my skills at Tekina and shuriken to rely on… other than that, I have 'that' as my secret weapon,_

_-Yeah, just haven't gotten used to it… I can't wait till I can do it on my own; it's effective, but I can only do it if you're here right now…_

Tai clenched his knuckles, _But can I make it a winning shot without Greymon… I'll save it as a last resort, just in case it backfires._

Finally beginning, Tai snapped his arm like a flash into his pouch, pulling out and throwing a kunai directly at Davis, who easily ducked and focused, Tai's hands forging several seals and transitions, leading his opponent to grow a little unnerved in his all fours position, peeling back his teeth, "_Quadrate Beast Form!_"

Now on all fours like an animal, his canine teeth spiked out and his chikara amplified, leading to his lunge forward, flickering out toward Tai and delivering a lightning flash elbow to his solar plexus, sending him careening back, seemingly unconscious on the tiled floor.

"Pitiful," Daiyo laughed.

Joe sighed, "Well, that was expected."

"Yeah, Tai never stood a chance against Davis!" Mimi added, passively sighing.

Davis guffawed loudly, getting back on two feet, his canines receding, "Ref, you might want to call it; he's finished."

"Behind you~!" Tai's voice chuckled behind Davis, punching him back ferociously, surprising everyone, "You know, you really need to pay attention; most of the seals were to distract you from the shadow clone seal I made."

"Shadow-!" Davis rubbed his cheek, looking across to the Tai he flatlined and astonished when it erupted into a shroud of smoke, "… Fine… I tried to give you a painless way out, but since you're driving me to this…"

Tai scanned carefully as Davis stood up, the hooded boy reaching into his pouch, forcing Tai to ready himself, surprised when Davis extracted a small, green pill, flicking it in his mouth and chomping on it, "What was that pill…?"

Satsuma and Kudamon observantly watched as Davis began to twitch, "An Enhancer Pill? Why would a K'rin need an advanced digital code added to his own?"

"Say what?" Sora asked in curiosity.

"It means his strength and speed will skyrocket."

Davis now had his canines spiked again, and his eyes were more of an oblong shape, as if the sclera and its contents wished to become slits. He clapped his hands in the seals Ram, Serpent and Tiger, a basic illusion clone forging beside him, with the exact same intent in its eyes, the pair lowering to their all fours technique again, looking like humanoid dogs.

Tenma piqued, _This strategy already? Tai must have agitated him; I thought he would use Tekina first and then Genina, but I guess after the pill… that loser kid is toast._

Satsuma narrowed his brows, _A basic illusion clone cannot harm those it touches, it just passes through the body like an image; they can't hope to compare to Tai's solid clones, so what's his plan?_

"What was that pill he took?" Mimi inquired, Joe seeming unsure.

JP straightened up, "It's called an Enhancer Pill. A special medicine used for military purposes, it allows continuous fighting with increased chikara potency for days; Davis took a small pill for momentary boosting."

"Now," both Davis' voiced hysterically, reaching into their pouches and retracting large black bauble objects, Tai recognising them as smoke grenades; stored gas contained within a thin membrane, bursting into a thick purple haze when the boys tossed them toward Tai.

Thrashing against the shroud like it was thick water, Tai began to grow desperate at how blind he was within the haze, feeling a punch to his face, then to his stomach and another to his face before he ran in a single direction, having a cave exiting effect of pure light at the exit of the gas, Davis before him with an evil grin, punching him back in.

"Eat this!" Davis, inebriated with the power boost, challenged toward Tai within the shroud, swinging his arms like a metronome, with his clone, both of them lunging toward the shroud, spinning so fast that they looked like flexible drills, "_Tunnelling Howl!_"

It happened so quickly that Tai couldn't comprehend it. Within the shroud of purple plume, he felt like a drill constantly pounded against his sides and back, as if to taunt how easily he could be seriously injured.

_Damn it… how am I supposed to fight back when I can't see where he is? _Tai growled, crossing his arms defensively before his face, _Alright, counter attack time!_

Davis and his illusion clone continued to tunnel in and out of the smoke, finally noticing it dissipating slowly and stopping, both grinding to a halt beside one another, Davis crossing his arms, "Well… would you look at that?"

His snicker was directed at Tai, the boy strewn out with cuts and grazes on his body, small tears on his clothes and a motionless form. Motionless, of course, before he sparked up, jolting his hand through the air, a simple shuriken thrown toward Davis.

In response, holding his arms together, he stepped to the side, smiling in contrast to Tai's filthy glare on the ground, "Well, that was just pitiful… I mean, really!"

The pair of Davis' chuckled, ceasing when Tai chuckled back at them, pointing behind them at the shuriken he had thrown, the one that had burst into smoke and transformed into Tai just before Davis could turn, throwing a shuriken toward his back.

Jerking himself back, Davis barely managed to pull his head to the side, allowing the shuriken to pass, his clone remaining still and allowing the shuriken to pass through its head like the apparition it truly was.

"So that is the clone… I was wondering which one of you was actually hitting me, and which was to distract me in the cloud," Tai dually noted, hoisting himself up, "don't look so astonished; I have tactics of my own, I do want to become the Senksha, after all. I need to be good."

Davis jolted in anger, dismissing his clone with a half Tiger seal, the replica evaporating into colourless form and fizzing out in the air. Davis had underestimated Tai; he was now guarded on both sides, and he hadn't noticed the transformation, let alone a shadow clone seal, so he was the one with a dilemma against clones.

Satsuma wore an all knowing smirk, _I recognize that deception strategy… he used it in the Land of Squalls to deceive Akira, an O'rin. Whether or not he knew it, Davis had no chance of noticing with the smoke he created or the focus he put on that clone to create the illusion of a solid clone attacking Tai. Either Davis would dodge and create an opening, or his clone would be revealed… very meticulous for a battlefield strategy._

Squad Ten was admonished for their dismissal of the former class clown, "That's the Tai I used to know- the one who couldn't manage a single transformation right?" Mimi released in amazement.

"Well, it seems he can do more than that now, and his timings were fantastic, even in the cloud!" Joe added.

JP simpered, "I remember when he was just the kid with that naked girl transformation… I miss the school a little…"

Mimi firmly punched him in the shoulder, "You would remember that, you pig…"

Keenan was looking down also, a slight pallet of interest and vacancy on his face, although his pre-set facial expression remained unaltered.

Davis heaved in a large dose of air, calming down at the sudden change in match direction, but his pill rendered complete calm unachievable. But his worried look gave way to a devilish glint in his eye, "Tai… you shouldn't have pushed me… you want to see my Genina?"

Tenma's eyes fell directly on Davis and his calmed, lowered shoulders, _He's calmed… he moving on to the second step of his battle strategy now. Tekina is a strong point, like he just showed, but his Genina improved Tekina is a very advanced style unique to the Motomiyas._

Davis quelled himself with a shallow breath, performing slowly the seals for summoning; Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram, placing his palm on the tiles, "_Summoning Technique!_"

The creature brought forth by the rudimentary smoke was a Veemon, a unique little dinosaur type Digimon with blue skin, parted by his white underbelly and jaw area. He was short and stout, smaller than Agumon, but he had a longer tail and large red eyes and a V marking on his forehead.

"Heya, Davis!" He greeted with a thoroughly thick Southern accent, laced with an almost comedically kind voice, "Why did you call me today? I thought you said no disruptions; I was tailing this loose Gatomon before you-,"

"Now's not the time, buddy," Davis relied, "you stalking cat Digimon can wait; I've got a strong guy here I want to beat fast."

Peering at his beast like eyes, Veemon sighed, "The pills… so, you want my help with the old one-two combo? You got it; give me one of the pills."

Handing him one, Veemon ingested the pill without a moment's delay, Tai watching on in interest; Davis hadn't become incredibly strong, either that or Tai's Tekina training had given his body steely like resistance. Some would call it arrogance, but he would call it waning interest.

The blue reptile began to judder on the spot, a faint glow emanating from Davis's pouch, Tai grunting and covering his eyes before the familiar glow, "So that's what the pill does for a Digimon…!"

The glow faded away, Veemon now almost nine feet tall and sporting white wings, an enlarged tail and an X marking on his chest and stomach, "ExVeemon!"

Tai pulled his arms down to his sides, responding to the urge to burst Davis's bubble, "You need pills that make him stronger for digivolving? I managed it naturally only a couple of days after graduating!" he goaded.

"Right, like anyone would believe a loser like you!" Davis contradicted.

"You know what, I think I'll go along with this and watch you squirm when your pride is crushed, Davis. I'll do this alone." His eyes shifted onto the hulk beside Davis, "Your move."

"FIRST AND LAST!" the dragon like creature cut across, flickering before Tai in an instant, his right fist raised. Tai barely escaped with a chikara boosted leap of faith to the side, the tiles cracking but not succumbing to the giant's fist, the assailant moving on and using his wings to glide over to Tai again, aiming for a straight punch with his enhanced strength.

Tai leapt up, but was awestricken when Davis lunged onto ExVeemon's head, using it as a platform and jumping toward Tai, rotating like a drill once more and scoring a stomach hit, repelling the big haired K'rin back into the wall hard.

Gassed and winded by the collision, Tai peered up through his pain to Davis and ExVeemon, both coming from his left and right with the drilling attack and a large fist.

Leaping forward with a flip, Tai decided to gamble, crossing his fingers in his favourite seal, "_Shadow Body Splitting!_" he called, summoning four clones of himself to skid on the ground with him, ExVeemon and Davis altering their course through the air back toward the centre Tai.

All of them, the clones and the original leapt up in perfect synchrony above Davis and ExVeemon, the top Tai doing a backflip into another doppelganger's catching hands with his feet on the shoulders of the clone, the others repeating to form a chain of four clones, Tai grasping the bottom clone's ankles and twisting his body in the air, pulling all of the clones along and ploughing them like a hammer into the dinosaur's head, sending him crashing to the tiled floor, "_Clone Hammer Technique!_"

"ExVeemon!" Davis called out to him, relieved in his rage as the dinosaur slowly hoisted himself up on one arm, the other rubbing the bruise of impact, "You're okay!"

"BUT NOT FOR LONG!" Tai bellowed, Davis and his partner looking up to the original Tai that hadn't deformed after the attack, watching as he forged three seals, the Ram, Monkey and Tiger and shovelled in as much air as he could, "_Fire Form, Nova Blast!_"

Davis looked in horror as a small but lethally potent fire ball impacted him and ExVeemon, the two pill enhanced warrior partners cursing at the flames around them before noticing… no pain at all, the flames fizzing out along with the illusion clone above, everyone losing sight of Tai.

The Sandstorm and Storm Tamers seemed to understand, as did many of the O'rin, including Satsuma, _Now this is truly a skilled piece of work, Tai! If it weren't for my Surugan, I would've struggled to notice it!_

"Davis… I'm feeling strange…" ExVeemon indicated, Davis seemingly understanding the unwritten rule about higher evolutions of Digimon; the seal would act faster and send them quickly.

Since that was the case, Davis resorted to a talent of the Motomiyas alone, assuming the Tiger seal and sniffing, his nose enhanced by chikara, "He's… up there!"

"On it," the dinosaur acknowledged, crossing his arms across his stomach and looking up. Tai was clinging with his chikara to the ceiling, "_Vee Laser!_"

The X on his chest lit up and blasted a yellow ray at the ceiling, causing a minor explosion with no structural damage, but dispelling the shadow clone above.

"What the-?" Davis exclaimed, blinded by smoke when ExVeemon vanished, his short time of expenditure up. It was in this haze that Tai appeared before him, and beside him on both sides, and even a shadow revealing a clone behind him.

Tenma was astonished, _How-? Davis's nose is one thousand times more powerful than even a dog's, so how could mere clones deceive him?_

Harima puffed out cigarette smoke into the air, _The class clown created multiple clones when Davis was showing concern for his partner… I think only I, some of the O'rin sensei and the Storm and Sandstorm kids also noticed the small senbon he threw… a transformed version of his real body, and it passed by while the illusion clone feigned an attack… although it was only speculation and trial and error, he has marginally improved, even if a bit clumsy._

Tsuki hummed, "Seems the big mouthed one actually has some timing and control over his techniques… although he's far from being a threat."

Back down in the arena, Tai's real body (in front of Davis) sprang with a backwards flip combined with a kick to the jaw as he went, his three clones propelling Davis up to him and being vanquished into smoke, the real one straightening out above Davis and pulling his leg back, thrusting it like a scythe across Davis's face, the soccer kick sending him crashing to the tiled floor with a crash, "_Fire Barrage_."

His lack of movement, combined with his faint gag of blood made it abundantly clear to Kuzan, the sickly man raising his arm toward Tai as he landed, "The winner of the ninth match and advancing to the third test; Taichi Kamiya."

Sora practically squealed in glee, "That's right, Tai, you can do it if you put your mind to it!"

Kudamon seemed less indulgent, _That was the Wolf's Barrage ended with a different type of kick… but he added his own spin to it, I guess…_

Joe, Mimi and JP jumped up in amazement, "TAI ACTUALLY BEAT DAVIS!"

Mikoto blushed a little, _Good for you… you deserve it after everything you've been through._

Spencer, a Tekina master, was even more perplexed than the ending to Matt's match, _A second student of Satsuma's that has created an original combination… but his spin on it was his incredible skills with the Shadow Body Splitting! Seems Marcus isn't the only one with a forbidden technique mastered…_

Tai panted heavily, every shallow breath excrutiating to take in, before pulling his fist before him and snapping it into a fist, a mischievous, proud grin on his addled face, _I've gotten so much stronger since the school… I can even beat Davis now! Watch out blondie, I'm coming for you!_

…

Tai sauntered up the steps, a cheesy smile on his face, "Easy, easy, easy – peasy~!" he sung.

Mikoto had some ointment she desperately desired to gift Tai with for his cuts and grazes caused by the tunnelling attack, but her nerves were almost constricting her throat and casuing asphyxiation, especially as her idol began to pass by.

Finally mining gold, she decided, "T-Tai… if you want…" she presented the small container in her trembling fingers, her eyes closed almost like floodgates while Tai inspected it.

Tenma, stood against the wall beside the two, seemed amazed, _Well, well… that might be one reason for her personality quirk and shyness… she's got a soft spot._

"What is it, Mikoto?" Tai asked, the poor girl shrinking beneath his gaze.

Tenma intercepted and answered from the wall, "Medicinal ointment for cuts. I suggest you take it, Tai, Davis banged you up a lot." She ended with an all knowing smile, and after Tai took the ointment and began trailing away, the grateful look on Mikoto's peach coloured face made it grow into a full blown crescent of a smile.

Thomas in the distance looked at the girl who shared his name with a look of detest, "You seem vibrant, don't you… just like she used to be."

…

Back with his team and awaiting the tenth match of thirteen to be declared, Tai rubbed the ointment on a large cut trailing across his knuckles, the wound steaming slightly and closing at an amazing rate.

Tai seemed delighted, "Incredible! This stuff is almost like magic!"

Satsuma quipped in thought, _The ointment serves you no purpose, Tai. You've inherited that Demon Digimon's own healing and regenerative abilities… Lucifermon and his powers never cease to amaze me._

"Well, who's next up?"

At that moment, the screen began the randomized naming process for the tenth match, Mikoto occupying herself by skipping quickly down the steps to the ground level, just in time to catch Davis as he was being stretchered out. Pulling out another container of ointment, she went to pass it off to him, but he refused.

"Don't worry about me. Worry about Izzy if you don't do your best and watch out for yourself, Mikoto," he said in genuine care for his teammate, familiar with her gentle personality and her limitations because of it, "Listen, only the major K'rin are left with you, so do your best, but if you come up against the sand kid, promise me you'll forfeit. The same goes for Thomas; I noticed how he was glaring at you."

"U-um… th-that's…" she struggled hard to find a suitable answer, but one didn't form, and her mouth released a compressed sigh.

Behind her, Mikoto heard the loud ping for a match decision, her innards falling into the very bowels of dark fear when she read it; 'MIKOTO NORSTIEN' vs 'THOMAS NORSTIEN'.

"Damn it…" Davis cursed, having had his worst fear for Mikoto realized a second after saying it.

Tenma sweatdropped, _Mikoto… please, keep your head… please…_

The Third Senksha hummed sagely, _An interesting pairing for a match indeed…_

Spencer, who should have been elated that his strongest student, apparently the strongest K'rin there, was picked, but he felt a cold chill shudder through his spine, _Of all the… I hope he doesn't let his past get in the way… Mikoto wasn't the one at fault for the bad blood._

…

Both in the centre of the damaged arena, Mikoto and Thomas looked at each other like polar opposites, the girl with a restrained terror and Thomas with a fiercely held scowl.

The blonde straightened up, "I never thought it would be you… Mikoto…"

"I was hoping we wouldn't have to, brother."

"BROTHER?" Tai bellowed, "THEY'RE RELATED?"

Satsuma hummed like a teacher reprimanding a five year olds ignorance, "Well, distantly. They are both full blood descendants of the wisest and possibly most powerful clan in the history of the Hidden Terra Village; the Norstiens. They are technically distant cousins, but in the strict clan they call each other brother and sister or even higher honorifics."

"Higher? But you just said they all call each other brother and sister," Sora pointed out.

Marcus had at some point walked up and now stood beside Tai, startling him slightly, "Yes, but there are two families in the Norstien tree. Generations ago in wartime, they were a single family unit, but one section of it was elected as a 'main' family to lead, while the lower members were the 'branch' family, practically lapdogs to follow orders. Mikoto is directly descended in the main family, the daughter of the Norstien head, while Thomas is from the lesser bloodline."

"I see," Sora input, her face falling, "but for two family members to have a battle… that's a little excessive."

"Well… actually, I have heard small whispers whenever Thomas walked by his district of the village, about how 'disgruntled' the branch family is with their current stance," Marcus pointed at Mikoto and Thomas individually, "you see, the branch family is apparently treated as a horde of personal slaves in this peacetime, and it has raised tension between the two."

"Why exactly?" Tai queried, "You made it sound like they were a perfect clan."

Marcus patted Tai on the shoulder, the older teen looking down at Thomas, "Because of the many attempts to steal the secrets of the Norstiens, many sanctions and laws were made to protect the main household, although I do not know the details… but it is a true that the branch family has taken a very dangerous outlook on it."

Sora looked at Marcus conspicuously, "So they hate each other like the entire clan does…"

"Well, Thomas has inherited the tensioned feelings, but Mikoto… she seems far too gentle and loving, as if she doesn't care for the family issues…"

Kuzan took several paces back, slicing through the air with a cough, "You may begin when ready!"

Thomas stretched his legs out, readying to enter his battle pose before stopping, noticing Mikoto's eyes, "I'll give you one piece of advice, Mikoto. You must forfeit this match; you are the one person from the main family I do not carry heavy feelings towards, but the fact remains that you were not meant to be a Tamer."

Mikoto looked at him with a slight tremble, raising her hands before her chest almost defensively as he continued.

"Tamers are meant to be killing machines that carry out the dirty, black ops work of the world that needs doing to ensure balance. You can't possibly measure up to that standard; you desire a way to cease fighting and create harmony amongst everyone, and you have a weak will that forces your consent to anything anyone asks."

Mikoto went to resist his claims, but she could not. She worried too much about hurting others with her words to openly voice her opinions.

Thomas sighed at the sorry state of his distant cousin, "You feel inferior to everyone here, and yet you entered the T'rin Exams… you didn't even want to participate, but Davis and Izzy did. And a Squad of three is needed, so you folded, disregarding your own opinion. This is true, isn't it?"

Takato of the Storm team seemed disgusted as he listened to Thomas's rant, _He's mentally taxing her… I get that he wants her to forfeit quickly, but this is cruel, especially to her. She can barely mumble a word without rethinking it so she doesn't offend._

Mikoto mumbled some jumbled words, trying to sort out a response, "I… I just wanted… to change myself, make myself… better and stronger as a person…"

Tenma unfolded her arms and stepped away from the wall to the railing, _Mikoto… I was wondering why you suddenly agreed to enter…_

oOo

_The main household of the Norstiens was a traditional Japanese arcitechture building with paper doors, kotetsus, dojos and shrines, covering an entire section of the escarpment that had the Senksha faces. Tenma had gone there just after the K'rin graduation to visit Mikoto's father and inform him of her appointment as Squad Ten's O'rin sensei, a special case, seeing as she would be caring for a prospective heir to the Norstien name._

_She was stood in the archway of the paper door into the dojo, where Mikoto's father, a tall, well kempt man in gallant kimono robes stared with his Shuhengan down at Mikoto's little sister, also with her Shuhengan activated._

"_I just came by to inform you that I'll be caring for Mikoto during her travels as a K'rin," Tenma began during a short pause of the practise, "I was told to get your consent to this, as I'll be caring for the heir of your clan."_

"_Heir?" he insidiously growled, "When she was Minami's age five years ago, she couldn't perform a clone technique, let alone the advanced Tekina taught within our main family. Minami has managed that, and has replaced her as heir; the discrepancies in their strengths are large, and Minami is not bound by the same delusion of gentleness Mikoto is. Do what you will, just know that you do not care for my heir, but merely my test run of a daughter. Now go."_

_Tenma bowed to him, but her mind wanted to fold several fingers to him rather than her back. Walking away to the front entrance, she slipped on her sandals and began leaving, noticing a small shadow beside the tree in front of the entrance; Mikoto, staring at the dirty blankly, curled up in a ball against the tree, having overheard her father's loud dismissal of her._

oOo

Tenma was torn, _Trying so hard to change herself… all for the sake of impressing that bigoted fool of a father she's stuck with?_

Thomas, surprisingly, snarled at the faint declaration, "Foolishness… fate is not something that can be avoided, 'Lady' Mikoto. Fate dictates our lives how it pleases, and trying to alter yourself and others is getting in the way of progress; people can't change, that would mean there would be no distinction between the elites and the wannabe losers… like, YOU."

Tai grimaced, a vein popping alongside his temple, _That big mouthed, son of a-!_

"Because people can't alter the way life carries them is why distinctions like elitism can be clearly seen, and why co-dependancy is needed for those born weak. I found the truth years ago, when fate and happenstance forever altered Relena's life, even though she was lively and sought peace like you!"

Mikoto flinched, sweat falling down her face, _Relena… that was-!_

"Equality is a false path to follow; every person is inherently judgemental of others to strengthen their moral high ground and not feel like the pathetic weaklings they are. Looks, brains, growth, Bloodline Trait, in this Digital World, everyone is judged on their individual birthrights, creating discrimination and distinction, like the fact that I was born in the lesser house and you were born higher."

Mikoto felt several pangs as he went along, her height shrinking every second as she slowly withdrew into herself.

"I have seen many things with my Shuhengan, and I have seen through deception, traps and false fronts. You acting like you want change and strength is frankly laughable, a deception, a smokescreen!"

Sora looked back to her sensei, "What's the Shuhengan?"

Satsuma breathed deep, "The Shuhengan is the other great eye power of the Hidden Terra Village; a bloodline trait found in the Norstiens, that has incredible powers of its own. It's speculated that the Surugan is just a genetic mutation of the Shuhengan, since one power in particular is weaker in the Ishidas than in the Norstiens."

Mikoto flinched when Thomas raised his hands into a Ram seal, closing his blue eyes and shooting them open, the blue receding for the faint pearl purple, his veins popping alongside his eyes, "_Shuhengan!_"

She couldn't bear looking into those eyes. As a member of the Norstiens also, she had seen them many times during dojo practise, but the intensity and hate in Thomas's changed eyes was… almost demonic to behold. Trying to look away with a quiver, she lifted her eyes up to the top right, and then down to the bottom left to avoid the glare, forming a wall with her arms.

"You think anything you do can be concealed from my eyes?" Thomas growled in question form, scanning analytically with his Shuhengan at the quivering girl, an astonished look on her face, "Eyes that go to the top right in my experience indicates recollection… you truly have had a difficult path set by fate, hated by your father, called a failure… and with the movement to the bottom left, you imagined the outcome; you will lose, no matter what you do, because people don't change, and no amount of training or support changes that."

Mikoto quivered at the dissection of her personality, feeling a major invasion of privacy, biting her raised index finger.

"Ah," Thomas hummed almost mockingly, "the wall created with your arms in an attempt to repel me… very childish of you, almost a personality quirk, however, you biting your finger is a known quirk that calms nerves and dissuades fear… but you are only doing it because your wall is failing, and you are in a hysteric state inside; I can see water brimming at the bottom of your eyes, after all."

He wasn't wrong, because behind her arms, Mikoto's eyes began watering with large globules of water, threatening to fall like chalk just before anarchy, only in the girl's case, she was on the teetering edge of a breakdown.

Thomas was good at this, and he might be putting Kaname to shame, "The one truth in life you should know now… is that you can't change your fate-,"

"YOU CAN, YOU OBNOXIOUS BASTARD!" Tai roared, surprising Mikoto and many of the participants, "MIKOTO, DON'T LET THIS SMUG, PEPPY PRICK HURT YOU LIKE THAT AND GET AWAY WITH IT! KICK HIS ASS!"

Takato snickered, _I was wondering when he would put in a shout, like the match with Sora and Mimi._

Rika and Kazu remained stone faced, but the violent redhead apparently liking his anger, _Well… now that is some serious motivation!_

Mikoto seemed roused, regaining the three inches of her height she lost by pulling in on herself defensively, her eyes falling down to the tile floor, _Tai… you're right… if I can't be strong, what was the point of all my hard work?_

Thomas looked up with his intense Shuhengan eyes, but Tai's brown eyes were alight with wrath to match it, _Annoying pest, _he snarled, turning back to Mikoto, astounded by the fervent look in her eyes, _Her eyes have strength again… no, greater than before!_

_Thank you, Tai! _Mikoto thought strongly, closing her eyes and putting her hands forward for a fast sequence of seals including Horse, Tiger with lifting just index fingers, Boar with nearly straightened fingers, Hare, Rat, Dog, Horse, Dog, Hare, Rat, Boar with nearly straightened fingers, and Serpent, ending with Ram like Thomas did and activating her Shuhengan, the vein popping from beneath her hair to her eyes.

"Mikoto," Thomas warningly began, "you know what'll happen."

Mikoto ignored this, embracing the burning strength in her and sliding her feet out, raising palm chop like hands at her sides for her battle stance, "Prepare yourself, my brother," she said in compliance with the Norstien customs.

Marcus focused on her stance, _That's gotta be the-!_

Spencer was stone faced and silent, but his eyes flickered with semblance.

Thomas assumed the same slack poise, outstretching his palms in a martial arts stance, "Fine… remember that I warned you from this."

"I thought so," Marcus input, attracting Squad Seven's attention, "she is using the Norstien Discipline, the same as Thomas…"

"The Norstien Discipline?" Sora queried, "What's that?"

Clenching his knuckles, Marcus replied, "It is possibly the greatest Tekina in the Digital World. Like I said, the strongest K'rin from the Terra Village is that guy, Thomas Norstien."

Abruptly, the two charged toward each other, Mikoto thrusting her palm forth toward the chest of her distant cousin, who parried it in kind with the back of his palm, shifting it swiftly away and going for a palm strike of his own toward her face, Mikoto raising her other palm in a flash to deflect it. They continued ducking and going for palm thrusts and equally parrying them, a loud slap heard every time one of them was deflected. It looked graceful, but somehow went against Marcus's idea of the 'strongest Tekina'.

Mikoto slapped his hand upwards, letting her in low, the girl focusing and swinging her palm thrust, barely tapping Thomas's mid-section before he leapt back from her, grasping at the area like he'd been punched by iron.

"She got him?" Mimi shouted in a question.

Tai responded with his own bellow, "No, not deep enough! Keep at it, Mikoto!"

"That's where your wrong," Marcus contradicted, Tai looking up at him, "the slightest graze is enough for a Norstien. The reason they are so great is their amazing Tekina, that doesn't even require a full touch to damage."

Spencer took over from there, "You see, while me and Marcus may focus solely on the infliction of heavy outer damage, aiming for breaking bones and causing haemorrhaging, the Norstiens are a little different. In their palms, they focus chikara and funnel it into the enemy body to cause devastation from within, injuring the internal organs and damaging the chikara system with a Tekina art they call the '_Hazard Touch_'; while nowhere near as entertaining as mine, their Tekina is just as devastating."

Kudamon added, "Humans are incapable of toughening the organs shielded by muscular tissue, meaning that even the zenith tough guy is weak to the Norstiens."

Spinning on his heel, Thomas met for a second with Mikoto's eyes, their Shuhengan making it hard to read through their facial expressions. Mikoto ended this by thrusting a clenched palm toward Thomas's gut, the blonde barely slapping it away while embracing the _Hazard Touch_ style.

Izzy seemed to be amazed, the short statured boy scratching his head, _Mikoto is controlling and fighting equally…_

"GO, MIKOTO!" Tai cheered.

Sora had a perturbed look on her face, "To attack the chikara system… who are these people?"

"The chikara system? What's that?"

"Did you wonder why you flunked out at first; that's common knowledge!"

Marcus raised a finger, "I'll explain. The chikara system is the special veins that intertwine with the natural blood carrying veins throughout the body. It is a complex network, but it circulates around the body to distribute chikara energy like a tree passes water around its veins. Attacking such a vital system causes damage to the organs as well."

"But… how is it possible to see the system? It's not visible," Sora pondered, "so how can they attack it precisely?"

Satsuma hummed, "That is all dependant on their Shuhengan, because one of its main attributes is enhanced scanning vision that lets you see into your opponent and even distinguish the chikara system. Those eyes can see chikara like the Surugan, but they are greater because they can see build up in the body itself."

Back down in the arena, the pair charged at each other, palms coiled back and thrusting them into each other's chest with a dull, slapping thump. The pair stood in what seemed to be a perpetual state of petrification, only interrupted when Mikoto gagged up a lot of blood in her cough, the blow placed just above her heart, and Thomas blocking her thrust inches from his heart with his wrist.

"That's it? The power of the main family that has dominated my ancestors for so long… is just this strong?" Thomas howled in disbelief, "Mikoto… I warned you at the very start of the fight what would happen."

"No way!" Tai exclaimed, "I saw her hit! A graze was supposed to do it!"

Mikoto scowled, _Not yet…, _she slapped the hand over her heart, going for a make it or break it shot at her cousin with her palm, only to have it clutched by one hand and have Thomas's other jab her in the forearm precisely.

"It's over." Thomas declared.

Satsuma sweatdropped, _What's with this kid? He's attacking the Nexus Points!_

xxx

_Black Book of Terra_

_International Entry #7: Bashiori_

_Inquiry Origin: The Hidden Terra Village in compliance with all other nations._

_Classification: S Rank Criminal, Terra DATS Target One_

_Crimes: Multiple insurgencies across the Digital World, the absorption of his partner Digimon, Koburmon, making him a Digital Human with a forbidden process, experimentation on kidnapped children and adult Tamers, in one case the abduction of several newborns, reported cataclysm at the Land of Sea due to an insurrection he roused and many other crimes._

_Skills: One of the three Sansai, legendary heroes of Terra during the Third Great War and renowned for their powers, Bashiori being considered the most devious of the three. Capable of bestowing Viral Marks and specialises in snake conjurations. He is rumoured to have mastery over many forbidden techniques that defy nature, and capable of casting techniques that devastate a large landscape._

xxx

**A/N: **Well, I'll lay this down right now to settle things out.

After the whole T'rin Exam arc, we move on to the Invasion, which will feature our two additional teams, Team Takato and Team Jeri. After that, we move on to an original story arc, which will explain several things, introduce the first major antagonistic group, the Knights, and finally introduce that one character that has been avoided of mention so far.

Other than that, we are etching ever closer to the introduction of Matt's nemesis, a mystery man named Tsurugi, named after Kusanagi no Tsurugi, many may recognize this as another name or moniker for the Gathering Sword of the Heavens, or Ame no Murakumo, and is tenuously linked with Yamato Takeru.

Another mystery to be revealed is… what has happened to TK?

All of this and more, coming up.

Please review.


	20. Episode Twenty

**A/N: **A landmark for me; the twentieth chapter of a story has been reached, and the word count is nearly 150, 000, nearly as much as the Deathly Hallows' 180, 000 in only one month!

My dream of becoming a writer actually seems possible if I can achieve such lengths in writing!

Enjoy!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty: The Failure Grows Bold! Elite K'rin Combat!**_

…

Mikoto tinged at the poke to her forearm, feeling a strange clogging sensation all throughout her left arm, Thomas pulling her sleeve up her arm to reveal several red dots interspersed precisely over his cousin's arm.

Mikoto coughed, a cold bead falling down at the sight of her arm, "You mean… all of this time you were…"

Thomas was cold and calculating in his response, "That's right. Your attacks were ineffective from the moment you started opting to attack those openings I gave you. Even with Tekina, you can set traps if you keep a cool head, Lady Mikoto."

The Third Senksha held a stern outer appearance, but inside his mind he was amazed, _I had been told of how he was considered a genius among K'rin… but for a boy of this calibre to perform such a precise attack while feigning weakspots in his battle posture is amazing._

"Lady Mikoto, I have strained my Shuhengan to the point that even your Nexus Points become visible."

"What the-?" Tai expelled, reeling on the railing before him, "What did he do?"

Satsuma explained, Kudamon still around his neck, watching fiercely, "The Nexus Points on the chikara system are like stop off points on paths like dango shops and tea houses for chikara. There are in total three hundred and eighty two of them located across the system, controlling the outflow and regulation of the energy. Pressing them will distort, cut off or increase chikara outflow, depending on the whim of the attacker."

"How could that guy have hit them in the middle of a fight?" Sora murmured.

"Well, these points are across the body, the size of a pin or needle head. But this kid is amazing, to assault them in battle when the opponent is constantly shifting… they are barely visible to the untrained Shuhengan, and completely invisible to even the Surugan."

Tai heard Mikoto's short scream, shooting his head back to see her scraping along the broken tiled floor on her back, Thomas having struck her in the chin with his palm.

"Lady Mikoto," Thomas sighed, as if it was a triviality to fight further, "I warned you of the consequences if you attempted to defy fate. You were fated to lose because I was destined stronger; that's the only fact of life and this battle. Listening to the dwarf and trying to show bravado achieves NOTHING."

Mikoto stirred on the floor, pushing herself up with her arms, blood churning in her mouth and dripping on the tiles beneath her.

"For your own sake; FORFEIT."

"I…" she began, hoisting her legs as a crutch beneath her, slowly getting back to her feet, grasping at her chest, "never back down… I learned that from Tai… as long as I can stand, I won't quit."

Looking past Thomas's agitated form, she looked up to the second tier, Tai coming into view. Her blood stained mouth slowly shaped into a crescent by looking at him.

The big haired K'rin leant again on the railing, "I never knew she was… this cool…"

Marcus snickered, "I think your hard-headedness is rubbing of on her, Tai."

Sora nodded in agreement, "She was always watching you; she was the only one that seemed interested in your school training."

Tai blemished, looking down to meet her smile halfway, _She watched me?_

Mikoto was forced to abort the smile, a powerful tug in her chest retching it away from her, her mouth coughing up a small pool of her blood beneath her; no longer droplets, but large amounts. Any further damage, and her internal organs would be haywire, and she could die.

Tenma recognized this with an agonized face, feeling as though she were watching a brave, injured rabbit fight a battle hardened lion, _She can't take another blow from the Norstien Discipline… she'd die._

Kudamon strained his ghostly ferret face, "Unfortunately for Mikoto, this match was over the second Thomas assaulted her Nexus Points. With no chikara flow, she can't perform her _Hazard Touch _palm thrusts, summon her partner or perform the eye technique of the Shuhengan. It is over for her."

Sora blinked, _Eye technique…?_

Satsuma sweatdropped, _For a kid like this to exist as a simple K'rin… even Matt would have difficulty against him… and we haven't even seen the Digimon partner yet. If this kid is as strong as this on his own, he must have some trumpcard of a partner…_

Spencer released a bated breath vehemently, _I knew for sure that Thomas would have no problem advancing on his own. Mikoto fought valiantly, but she cannot hope to beat him; even Marcus would have heaps of trouble with that task..._

Keenan held his arms tightly in his cross armed pose, quivering and trembling at the sight of Mikoto's small blood pool, his usually unabashed, vacant eyes opened further, showing his veins and the madness behind his glassy gold eyes.

Mimi watched diligently, "You don't think… Mikoto will die here…?" she asked, quite unsure of herself.

Joe slowly took in a bubble of air, "I don't really know… all I know is that those eyes are serious stuff."

Sora turned to Tai, releasing her anxiousness, "H-hey, shouldn't they stop this? It's clear that he's in a different league, he's older and more experienced than her!"

Kudamon belayed, "No… age plays no part in the Tamer world or in controlled conditions like this. Why he's retained the title K'rin I don't know, but he is one, and that renders strength difference null."

Tai looked around, noticing several piteous forms, mostly by Terra Tamers and Takato, who seemed unusually concerned for the clearly over matched girl.

Finally relenting, Tai shouted another cheer, "MIKOTO, DO YOUR BEST!"

Mikoto scowled back at Thomas upon hearing this call, her glazed eyes recovering a shining glimmer, her Shuhengan activating again, _Tai… I'll do my best!_

_Strength and hope are in her eyes again…,_ Thomas noticed her Shuhengan activating again and popped his veins beside his eyes, the purple tint returning, "Bring it on."

Even though she could not utilize her chikara imbued strikes, the purple haired girl lunged forth toward Thomas, thrusting a flashy palm strike to him, having it slapped away by his hand, the blonde ducking down and preparing a thrust to her abdominals, only to have her twist archly out of the way, a low spinning heel kick coming from below her, forcing her to increase the twist, twirling through the air slightly and landing next Thomas, the pair parrying several palm thrusts with the loud slapping sounds in a fast, agile Tekina brawl, although no strikes landed, parried by palms, wrists, ankles on simple dodging.

Mikoto pondered to herself, entering a self-induced state of zen in the constant parry match she and Thomas were conducting at the same time, _Tai… I have watched you for years in the school, never giving up, always getting up from your knees with a smile on your face. Maybe that's why I spent all of those years watching, to try and gather some strength by watching; well now, it is your turn to watch me! Thanks to you, I feel that with effort, even someone as worthless as me has worth!_

Feeling a tug at her chest again, Mikoto ceased for a split second, upon recovering, she found a palm thrusting her head, jerking her neck back in an almost unsightly manner, striking her back down, the blonde actually surprised when she flipped back to her feet, clasping her abdominal area and gagging blood feet away from him.

_Mikoto, _Tenma thought huskily, resisting the urge to look away from this lamb in the slaughter, _you used to quit at the first sign that anyone would get hurt, always susceptible to fear… you trained at an insane rate, sometimes training for twenty three hours straight and passing out for the final hour… yet you'd continuously fail missions, and you were absolved of strength and courage when it mattered the most. But this girl has changed so suddenly; the strength in her eyes is uncanny!_

Mikoto leapt forward, palm coiled to strike Thomas's blasé, uncaring form. He didn't even bother to brace his battle stance as she came in like a rocket, _Tai… right now, you are doing the watching… please, watch me become a success!_

Throwing it forward, Mikoto's negated palm was slapped aside by her blonde cousin, who proceeded to cruelly and meticulously slam his palm atop her right breast, sending shockwaves of chikara racing through her body, her heart constricting and her legs devoid of energy, she flopped down beside her cousin.

"Fate is not a thing to be played or toyed with," Thomas didn't even look down at the large droplets Mikoto coughed on the floor next to him, "you are merely a child for thinking you could defy it; my sister tried to defy her fate, and she suffered for it."

Tenma shut her eyes, _You may have lost, but the strength you gained… I never expected you to change like that. Good job, you've earned your rest…_

Tai looked down solemnly at Mikoto's motionless, strewn out body, recalling her weak resistance from earlier.

_-I… I just wanted… to change myself, make myself… better and stronger as a person…_

Spencer sweatdropped at a scene that would ordinarily sicken a person, _An unrestrained strike to the heart… with the Hazard Touch, it could be lethal if she moves and raises her heart rate. It was a worthy and admirable attempt, but like he said, it was decided from the start. She won't be standing up again._

Kuzan paced forth a few steps, Thomas turning his back to Mikoto and beginning to walk toward the steps, "By my executive decision and due to the impossibility of her standing again, the winner of this match is-,"

"DON'T STOP IT!" Tai beckoned, stopping Kuzan's call.

Sora punched him in the side, "Idiot, she can't stand up anymore, so why-?"

Everyone but Keenan gaped at the scene in the arena, Tai smirking almost proudly. Thomas turned back, even he was showing a faint bit of emotion, his mouth opening as Mikoto struggled to her shaky feet, gripping her chest and coughing heavily.

Thomas's face contorted, but a cold sweat fell down his temple, "Why… why are you getting up? You have no chance in your condition! You'll die!"

Mikoto coughed a few globules of blood to the tile beneath her, _He's watching… the one person who is just like me… I can't lose looking so bad…!_

Thomas focused on her eyes: those ferocious, unrelenting eyes, passionate about a goal, "Lady Mikoto, this is _not _healthy," he indicated, contorting his face and activating his Shuhengan, "acting tough before an obelisk in battle serves no purpose. As the spoiled and pampered progeny of the Norstien clan's main family, you have been crippled by the pressure and hated by your father as a failure. You have always hated yourself as a result for your talentless nature, but you have to accept that your fate has placed you on that path."

"You think I don't see it?" Mikoto abruptly gasped, Thomas's face darkening, "The person who is most desperate to escape fate, the fate of the branch family… is you… you want to escape the fate that has hurt you and Relena."

Thomas's brow twitched violently at the mention of the name, and he roared, charging toward her with a palm coiled to strike.

Kuzan caught wind of this and went to stop him, "Thomas, the match is decided, stop!"

Thomas was mere feet away from Mikoto, the girl incapable of escaping harm with her injuries, but as he thrust his palm forward, several silhouettes surrounded him in a hazy flash, Satsuma grasping his palm before him, Tenma hooking his arm behind him, Spencer latching him in a loose full nelson hold and Kuzan holding two fingers before his Shuhengan eyes threateningly, the blonde heaving like an enraged wildebeest.

The O'rin around him holding him still, his sensei beckoned from behind him, "Hey now, you gave me your word of honour that you wouldn't let that whole family tension get to you!"

"SHUT UP!" Thomas snarled, writhing in the multiple grips futilely, "WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME? ARE YOU O'RIN PROTECTING THE MAIN FAMILY? JUST REMEMBER, SHE PROVOKED ME!"

"With your sister's name? What of it? You're a bigger man than this, and she didn't say a bad word about her, so calm down!"

Mikoto stared on, unable to move, but her innards constricted, and her heart beat suddenly and erratically hastened, the damage taking effect, causing her to collapse with a dull thud and blood to stream down her cheek.

Tenma reacted in a motherly way, releasing her vice like grip on Thomas and racing across to her, turning her onto her back and lifting her head in her arms, looking back at the smirking blonde with a scowl, _He's actually done it! He tried killing her all throughout the match!_

Hastily, Tai and Marcus lunged down from the second tier, running past the blonde, Tai exchanging a quick scowl with him before reaching Mikoto and Tenma, "Mikoto, hey, don't worry, you'll be alright!"

For a split fraction of a second, her eyes flickered open, before closing again, the girl passing out with the worried thought, _Did I do it? Did Tai see me change… even a little…?_

Tai looked down at her… so much blood lost… all because of his cheering…

"Hey, the big haired idiot!" Thomas called mockingly, Tai slowly looking back with a venomous stare, "Do you enjoy making a mockery of Tamers? We don't intend to make friends, so cut the stupid cheering! Seriously, if you are fated to be a loser like you, it is fated, and not one thing can alter that fact!"

"Buddy," Tai's eyes tightened, threatening to blast daggers, "you're pissing off the wrong guy. Your own cousin is bleeding before you, and you feel nothing?"

"'The wrong guy'? Are you trying to sound threatening?" Thomas spat back at him, Marcus giving a slanted look of disgust, just like Takato up on the second tier was, "Your fate is to lose forever. You are… a _pathetic_ excuse for a Tamer, after all."

Tai had heard enough from this guy: he began a blind charge, his fist coiled and face contorted, stopping only when Marcus placed himself between the two.

"Tai, I know how it feels," Marcus interjected, quelling Tai's unabated fury for the moment, "he is a merciless piece of work, that much is true. But he is also one of the elites, and is best saved to taste a loss in a match. It could be you or me, but either way, as long as he experiences defeat, that is fine."

Spencer smiled happily, _That kid… I remember him being this way as a toddler…_

The sombre attitudes faded as Mikoto coughed up blood once more, sounding more strained this time. Placing her ear to her left breast, Tenma listened carefully, _Damn it… she's going into cardiac arrest!_

"Medical Team, get in here NOW!" Spencer shouted, snapping back into reality and helping Mikoto onto a stretcher the medical Tamers finally brought out, "Get going! She hasn't got ten minutes if you dawdle like this!"

_Mikoto…, _Tai pondered, depressed before reshaping his face into one of ambitious rage. Walking over to a pool of her blood, he dipped his fingertips in and clenched his hand in a tight fist, pointing it at Thomas with everyone watching, "YOUR ASS IS MINE!"

Daiyo snorted beside Keenan's quivering form, "He's such an idiot… sure, he looked good against that other guy, but they were both idiots! That Thomas dude is skilled and he has a brain unlike most of these guys!" his face fell as he shifted his glance to Keenan's quivering form of seriousness, _But that also means two monsters are here… but ours is a true monster, not to mention he's… shaky. That thing inside him is…_

Keenan's black entrapped gold eyes traced Thomas's every step as everyone began to saunter back up to the second tier, the eleventh match about to be called.

Daiyo also watched, _Alright… he won and proved his strength… but he wasn't pushed and seemed cool as a cucumber… I guess he is still hiding his true strength. I'll get some info… let's start with that idiot that signed his own death warrant._

Daiyo began walking down the walkway, Tsuki noticing and pacing to see behind Torune's back, "Where are you going?"

"To get some information!"

…

Tai made it to the top of the steps on his walkway, hearing a voice behind him, "Hey, buddy! Slow down!"

Turning around, his face arched at the sight of Daiyo (he was still sore about their initial meeting), "What do you want?"

"You're a funny guy, I like you!" he chuckled.

"Well, no offense: but you're not funny, and I don't like you!"

"Harsh…" Daiyo feigned hurt, but inside he was filled with disdain, _Short little bastard…, _"I was just gonna ask about that Thomas Norstien guy… know how strong he is? I mean, you did challenge him, after all."

"No great mystery," Tai stoically interjected, "he will have his ass kicked by the end of this, and I'll make sure that he's looking up at me when he loses."

Daiyo guffawed lowly, _This moron's still at it? He doesn't have a hope in hell!_

They were cut off by Kuzan's sickly voice, interspersed with coughs, "We will now begin the eleventh match."

The screen began flashing with the remaining six names, all six looking up with a variety of stoic, stone cold and blatantly afraid faces. The names flashed by one by one; Henry, Takato, Shindo, Keenan, Marcus and JP were all that was left.

The screen finally stopped on the next match, bringing a powerful smirk to Marcus's face as he read; 'MARCUS DAMON' vs 'KEENAN'.

Keenan gave the screen's decision a secondary glance before closing his black marked eyes and assuming a half Tiger seal, his body breaking down into sand and transmitting him into the centre of the arena in an instant, his body shaping from the sand that spiralled around him.

"Come down here," he coldly released up towards Marcus.

JP let out a thunderous roar, slashing his arms through the air, "HELL YEAH, SAFE AGAIN!"

Sora ignored this stupidity and articulated inwardly after scanning Keenan, _Well, it's finally Marcus's turn… but this kid… he's younger than me, but there's something off about him; something DARK. Plus, what's in that large gourd on his back? He doesn't have a pouch, so does he rely on the gourd and that boomerang?_

"Marcus!" Spencer walked over, bending down, "A piece of advice… watch out for that gourd; there's something weird about it."

"Really, you think so?" Satsuma callously released, albeit faintly.

"That's great advice!" Marcus reassured, performing three squats and crutches before leaping down gracefully with the cheer from his sensei. The silence overbeared the arena as time slowed down for Keenan and Marcus, who glared at each other, "So… it's you I have to fight after all. The Ultimate Fighter against the snot nosed kid of the Sandstorm Village."

Keenan chided with a stone cold, vacant eyed, expressionless look that could be associated with sociopathical behaviour.

Marcus changed from his smirking face to a dead serious one, assuming his unique Tekina battle stance with his palm raised before him at the ready, just waiting on Kuzan's signal.

"I don't know what fancy techniques that guy has," Daiyo spoke up beside Tai, "but even with the age difference, he has no chance against Keenan's power."

"Wrong," Tai pointed out calmly, surprising the puppeteer beside him, "you might think he doesn't look like much with that jacket and cargo pants, but beneath the bandages wrapped on his arms are bruises and scars from his training; I'm more worried about the little kid."

Spencer arched his brows, _Marcus… be careful. This kid gives off an aura of raw power even you would be shaken by._

Marcus braced up, jolting his outstretched palm and clasping around a shadowy object Keenan had thrown at him with high speed; the sand plug of the gourd, "Right off the bat? What's your hurry?"

The gourd now unsealed, small grains and granules of sand began spitting out as faint, black marks in the air.

Tsuki gave a grimacing smirk, _Poor kid… he had speed and power in that kick he directed at me earlier, but the outcome is already decided; Keenan's unbeatable._

Kuzan sensed tension, and figured he would get out of dodge, leaping back with the call, "Eleventh match, begin!"

Starting instantly after the call, Marcus charged, one arm behind his back as he went, the jacket flailing as he leapt into the air like an orange haze and spun for a kick, "_Cyclone!_" he bellowed, swinging for his powerful spin kick at Keenan's unflinching head.

Not even looking, not moving, and yet Marcus had his leg stopped somehow before he touched Keenan, and as his head came full circle in the twist, his eyes arched at the sight of a cloud of sand blocking his blow.

Marcus grimaced, landing on the tiled floor in front of Keenan and meeting his vacant expression, _What is this? Sand stopped me? _He shifted his eyes, following the trail of sand to the opening of the gourd, _I see!_

Marcus was forced to rethink quick, as a looming shadow above him became darker, the boy only barely catching a glimpse of the approaching sand from above before leaping back twice and backflipping several feet away from the young K'rin, the sand receding into the gourd while Keenan's eyes seemingly intensified with a glassy look of dark intent.

Sora was deeply disturbed by the sudden sight, _How can he manipulate sand? That's not an elemental technique! Even if it was, I don't think there's any Earth Form like it!_

While her sensei, Satsuma, blanched, perturbed, _Is that some type of Bloodline Trait? No… it can't be… so what kind of technique is that?_

Tai's peeled back his lips, his mouth gaping, _That gourd was loaded with sand!_

"That's…" Izzy sweatdropped, his calm composure ruptured as he recollected what Daiyo had said in the Deathly Forest.

_-Keenan's sand is infused with his powerful chikara, and can harden beyond the reach of water and external damage. It's a technique only Keenan can use, and its automatic, it happens without his doing anything. Basically, Keenan is immune to any type of attack you can throw at him._

Marcus re-entered and hunched low in his martial art stance, _Sand manipulation… well, nothing ventured, nothing gained; let's test how tough it is!_

Marcus rushed forward, zig zagging his paces to confuse Keenan if he tried to use the sand, but all the ten year old did was remain still and watch as Marcus came up to his face, the young boy crossing his arms broadly. Marcus launched a powerful fist toward Keenan's face, but the sand shot out of the gourd and inbetween the again.

Grinding his teeth, Marcus twisted from the fist and lowered for a low kick, only to be blocked by the shroud of sand that shot around. Twisting and straightening up, he launched several debilitating one-two punches into the sand to test its toughness, finding that it did not yield and seemed harder than the first block.

Keenan responded this time by manipulating the shroud now hovering in a ghostly way at his feet, a portion of it shooting forth from below for a chin strike, Marcus noticing and barely seceding from his assault to jerk his head back, rolling back onto his knees from it, to find the shroud trailing him from above, coming down like a tidal wave for him, forcing him to roll and flip several more times before lunging back into the air, clasping into his pouch for three shuriken, throwing them toward Keenan and snarling lowly as the sand cloud once again deflected his assault, the boy landing while the sand receded again into a small cloud of sand around Keenan, some of it returning into the gourd.

He felt like growling, but he retained his senses and went back into his martial arts stance, sweatdropped, _How is he doing that? I accept that he can manipulate sand, but he isn't moving or gesturing to direct the sand, so how is he doing all of this? I attacked his blindside as well!_

"Well, are you done?" Keenan's voice shuddered throughout the Hall of Conflict, his head looking down but his body still locked in his posture, "I hope you're not… because we… WE DESIRE BLOODSHED!"

The sand shot out from his gourd once more, slithering along the ground in a straight line toward Marcus, his opponent's eyes intent and cold, forcing him to try dodging again until he could figure out another plan.

Leaping up with chikara, he shot up like missile, but was pulled back by sand that had wrapped like a vice around his ankle, swinging him around in the air like a weight in hammerthrowing, releasing him suddenly with great force and momentum into the wall beneath the Sandstorm and Sound's walkway, winding Marcus, the teenager falling down to the floor, using the wall as ballast as he got to a knee.

Sensing danger, Marcus rolled forward, dodging a sand cloud punch that riveted the wall and could've crushed him by the skin of his teeth. Realizing there was no rest in a match, he ran forward toward Keenan while the sand was occupied at the wall, running with his great speed and thrusting a fist toward him, only to have sand interject once more, agitating him as he speedily went all around Keenan, applying every flip kick, punch and technique natural Tekina had taught him, being parried by the sand shroud, his young opponent still not having moved at all.

Tai ground his teeth at this, "What's with that sand? He's not controlling it at all!"

The Sandstorm K'rin beside him darkly expressed, "No, he's not. It's a technique only Keenan can use, and it happens without him having to do anything. That's why no one has ever wounded him before; I'm not even sure if he's been touched since he was born…"

"Why's he not switching?" Sora inquired, "Tekina is obviously not working, so why not create distance and use Genina techniques?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Spencer chuckled, looking across to her confused face and walking over to Squad Seven while Marcus continued being blocked by sand, "it's unfortunate that he's talentless at both Genina and Seiina; Tekina is all he's got."

"You're kidding…"

"Oh, that isn't the half of it! When I put him through school, his report cards were appalling!"

Kudamon straightened up around Satsuma's neck, "Hey, you were only granted the leadership of his team if you kept mum on that."

"Actually," Spencer contradicted, looking stoically at the ferret Digimon, "since I'm completely impartial as a team leader, I am allowed to speak openly of it."

Back in the arena, Marcus barely dodged an upward hook from the sand shroud, and performed a series of backflips like an agile and skilled gymnast, the sand closely following, catching up beneath his feet and pulling his feet, rocking his balance and forcing him to fall down atop the sand cushion, another tidal wave of the sand raging above him, collapsing seemingly on top of him, Marcus giving a loud grunt.

Sora closed her eyes, but hearing a throaty chuckle from Spencer, looked back to see Marcus backflipping through the air, presumably with a chikara boost, since he was twenty eight feet in the air, and gracefully planted his feet on the apex of the giant Ram seal at the front of the Hall of Conflict, going to a knee and panting lightly.

Moving for the first time, Keenan adjusted his stance, placing a foot forward and sliding his body to face Marcus, his cold eyes peering up at the teen.

Spencer smiled broadly, "A Tamer who can use neither Genina nor Seiina in the field to fight with their Digimon is certainly rare. People might consider only Tekina techniques a disadvantage, to say the least." He guffawed lowly, facing Sora's confused look, "But that's what makes him special, unique, more powerful than many Tamers out there."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked futilely, as Spencer took no notice.

Thrusting his hand out into a thumbs up, Spencer huskily exclaimed, "MARCUS, IT'S TIME FOR YOUR TRUE POWER; TAKE THEM OFF!"

Everyone pondered on what he meant (except Keenan, keeping his eyes trained on his prey), Marcus looking blankly at Spencer, "But, Spencer-sensei! You said never to do that unless a desperate situation was met, and only if it was to protect others as the Ultimate Fighter!"

"TRUE, I DID! BUT THIS IS THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE!"

The teenager atop the concrete hand seal's eyes glistened with happiness at this, and he shuddered with relieved disbelief, "If you say so, sensei!" he replied, crossing his legs atop the hand seal, pulling his cargo pant legs up to reveal two bulky things wrapped around his shins.

Satsuma sighed in disbelief, _Leg weights?_

Joe recognized them also, "So basic… but what'll it change, exactly?"

"Awesome!" Tai cheered on.

Daiyo took a more… derivative approach, "Stupid beyond belief… that kid's either joking or he's got really desperate… or both."

Marcus stood up straight on the finger he was placed on currently, the two leg weights unstrapped and flapping around as he moved them, a broad smile on his face, "Way better! I can really go all out now!"

Relinquishing his hold on the weights, they plummeted down to the floor, Tsuki snorting, _Come on… Keenan has the Ultimate Shield on his side, you really think you'll bypass it by shedding a couple of pounds of weight?_

The thunderous crash and small tremors upon the collision of the weights on the ground gave rise to a large cloud of dust, rendering Tsuki beyond silent, and forcing the jaws of many to drop and bodies to straggle against the tremulous event, Keenan the only one unfazed, as he had focused sand a his ankles as a stabilizer, the boy retaining a cold look up at Marcus.

Tai trembled at the sudden unrest in the Hall, "How much did those things weigh? A couple of tonnes?"

Sora gaped, her eyes almost bulging from her skull and her voice trembling with the near seismic event in the room.

Satsuma, one of the O'rin not affected, covered his mouth in surprise, _Spencer never could stray away from the unnecessary or the insane…_

Kudamon seemed to concur, _He's tried to replicate himself in that boy; he always was too much… no wonder Gamemon was so relieved when they passed the O'rin Exam and separated, geez…_

"ALRIGHT, NOW GO GET 'EM!" Spencer rallied up to Marcus, pointing down at Keenan as if he were targeting.

"YOU GOT IT!" Marcus exclaimed, leaping up from the finger, his body flickering seemingly out of existence, Keenan's eyes shooting open, his face flushed out with the first emotion he'd felt since the T'rin Exams began; surprise.

Sora jolted up, "So close!"

Her teammate was astounded beside Daiyo, _Amazing!_

Satsuma furrowed his brow, _So Spencer has been trying to build this kid up like himself; such speed…_

Marcus flashed back into existence behind Keenan, hunched over from landing with his lightning speed, coiling his fist and throwing it toward the boy's head, the sand shroud just blocking it, but yielding slightly from the vast momentum and force difference in the fist.

Turning around to catch sight of, and hopefully attack, him, Keenan only just saw Marcus, before his body vanished from all vision again, the sand darting up behind him, indicating it had taken a blow. Keenan repeated this process of looking a second too late for Marcus, the silhouette continuing to circle the ten year old, pounding his sand shield that was struggling to keep up, as only small pockets managed defence rather than the entire cloud at his feet.

The sound of Marcus's movement was like that of a jet passing by, there for a fraction of a second, and then gone again.

"I noticed right at the beginning of his training that Marcus had no aptitude for Seiina or Genina, and his Tekina at the time was… lacking," his sensei chuckled, "but we looked past his limitations, and focused on his Tekina. Like that, we could maximise the on decent aspect about him. Now he doesn't need either of those two to win; he's the Digital World's foremost Tekina specialist."

Marcus circled around Keenan almost tauntingly, knowing that while he could recognize objects at his speed, the young boy was incapable of tracking him. Deciding to finish it, he jumped up above Keenan, reappearing to the natural eye as he rotated in a frontal flip multiple times, extending his leg out and slamming it into Keenan's head without intervention by the shifting sand, the boy's head bobbing after the axe like kick.

Out of everyone, Torune, Daiyo and Tsuki seemed disheartened and horrified, their mouths gaping and their sweat falling at the sight as Marcus skidded back from Keenan, the cold blooded K'rin reeling from the kick, but quickly regaining himself and grimacing darkly at Marcus in his martial art stance.

Keenan's step sister leaned on the railing, _Unbelievable! Keenan's been hit!_

Daiyo was astounded also, _He slipped past the sand cloud!_

Tai was amazed, struggling to speak, "H-he's been THAT fast the entire time?"

Spencer thrust a fist in the air for victory, "MARCUS! LET THE POWER OF YOUTH ERUPT!"

"YES!" he bellowed back, jolting forth and disappearing, Keenan scowling at this and slicing through the air with his palm, commanding the sand to form a long column wall in front of him, keeping a little shifting cloud to defend himself. Marcus punched behind him, occupying the cloud long enough to thrust a fist toward Keenan's formerly vacant face, "This is it."

A loud smack resounded, Keenan being shot back with a bruise on his cheek and a hit atop his head, the boy sliding across the ground on his side.

Marcus smiled at his success, placing his palm before him in his posture, _Finally… one connected right on!_

"He's too fast! The sand can't handle him anymore!" Sora chirped, thrusting a fist forward, "Marcus, you're a shoe in to win!"

Mimi and his Squad were amazed at the speed, the girl getting dizzy trying to follow, "I've never heard of anyone being that fast before!"

Keenan staggered up slowly, sand flowing like water from the gourd as he rose, his face focused solely on the tiled beneath him, and a laboured, menacing heaving sounding from him.

"Oh… crap…" Daiyo shook his head, looking extremely unsettled.

Tai turned to him, a comedic look on his face, "That kid acted all tough, but he's getting the stuffing knocked out of him!"

"Kid, are you blind to the obvious? All that Marcus guy has done is piss Keenan off."

Keenan's head was hung low, but shadowy fragments of something began seceding from his face, plates of sand bursting on the tiles beneath.

"What…?" Marcus breathed, his eyes dilating and his fighting form tightening.

Keenan still heaved like a sociopath, looking up with plates of sand on his face, crumbling apart at the seams, his madly entranced face of anger becoming clear, veins erupted along his eyes and his lip peeled back in a sickening sneer of a smile, the usually vacant boy smiling ecstatically with his intrinsical darkness.

Tai was aghast, "His face his crumbling?"

Satsuma arched his brows once more, _It's some kind of encasing of sand…_

Joe gave a benign gasp, "How… there isn't a mark or bruise on the kid!"

_He put on the armour,_ Daiyo sweatdropped, _things must be going bad… That look on his face; it's the one he gets when that thing is stirred up._

Tsuki trembled and rocked her proud form, _I knew this would happen sooner or later; he's been getting more unstable with every drop of blood he's seen as the T'rin Exam went on! Marcus must be more powerful than I thought if Keenan resorted to the armour. But that still doesn't change it; although he'll actually have to work for it, Keenan can't lose._

"I don't get it, is he made of sand or something?" Tai asked Daiyo, the older boy dreary looking.

But he responded, although he didn't look away from his step-brother, "No, he's wearing a suit of armour composed of sand. Usually, the sand shifting around his feet act freely to defend him, but in the rare, and we're talking very small, chance that someone passes through it, he can compress sand around him like armour, as a final line of defence."

"Armour? He has armour now? Is he seriously invincible, I mean, he has no weakness!"

Daiyo lowered his shoulders, _If you only knew… that armour is a sign of weakness. Unlike the shifting sand that can block everything, the armour is only compressed one, and can be cracked, or worse, broken. The chikara needed to manipulate the sand armour takes its toll on him as well._

"Well?" Keenan asked, sand flowing onto his composed face and reforming his sand armour, taking on his skin, hair, pigmentation and clothes colour when applied, "Is that all the fun you have to offer?"

Marcus perked up in his martial art form, _That sand is still an issue, even though I can pass through the cloud with my speed… that sand on top of him like a shield of armour doesn't seem that tough, so maybe if I force him off the ground and hit him hard from above with the Plunge…_

With a hopeful glimmer in his eye, Marcus shifted his gaze up toward Spencer, his sensei reading his mind and intent with a glance back, nodding and thrusting a powerful thumbs up toward him, Marcus gaining an equally powerful smirk.

Loosening his guard, the teenager began unfurling the bandages on his forearms to let some of it dangle beneath his arms, following up with the hands seals for summoning, planting his hand onto the floor, smoke billowing forth.

Sora piqued at this, however, "Wait… doesn't that count as Genina?"

Spencer shook his head, "No, that is a general, basic and unclassified technique such as substitution or basic cloning. It is not a Genina technically."

Looking back down, Marcus's Agumon burst forth, Tai twitching his brow slightly as the bipedal dino spoke up in confusion, "Boss? You won't become the Ultimate Fighter by calling me in only the space of a few days!"

"Sorry, buddy," Marcus clapped his hands and bowed to him, "but this kid here, he's got this special technique; he's tough, and I think you know where I'm going with this."

Agumon looked across to Keenan, specifically the shifting sand at his feet, _Wait… something about controlling sand sounds familiar… where've I heard of that before?_

"Ready?"

"You know it!"

Taking heed of this, Marcus grabbed the dino's claw with both hands, spun fully around and throwing him high in the air, his partner sticking to the ceiling by digging in with his claws, biding his time waiting.

Keenan was unamused, but focused when Marcus shot forward, his body vanishing out of sight, apparently encircling the boy and his sand shroud by the large dust residue rising and the loud, jet like movements around him.

"What are you waiting for?" Keenan asked insatiably, growing restless with the speed edge Marcus utilized, "I'm withering away here."

Marcus happily obliged with this declaration, delivering the first stage of his technique, phasing in beneath Keenan, launching up with incredible force in the boy's chin without restraint. Keenan quickly recovered, however, his chin cracked by damage to the armour, but his body weighing itself down.

_It must be the rest of the sand in that gourd, _the teen articulated, remedying that by flipping into a handstand, pushing off with his hands and delivering another kick to Keenan's chest, proceeding to force him up ever more with more kicks, propelling himself up also with great muscular strain, Marcus shutting his eyes in pain around twenty two feet in the air from the stringent pain, the flimsy sand cloud only just reacting to his assault.

Clapping his hands together, Spencer shut his eyes also in prayer, _Unlocking the Euphoric State alone puts a great strain on the body, not to mention the Plunge itself… he's got to end this now!_

Satsuma cocked his head up a little, having noticed something.

Marcus repulsed his pain, his eyes shooting open with a determination that threatened to burn Keenan as he planted one more kick for good measure before thrusting his arms up, the bandages wrapping around Keenan like a ghostly lifeform, Agumon unlatching his claws and dropping down to Keenan's now topside legs, wrapping around them as the partners began spinning the restrained boy upside down, approaching the ground like a tornado before they leapt off, "_Delphinium Plunge!_" Keenan smashed into the tiles, destroying them practically with a large crater where he landed, the bandages coming off with Marcus, meaning he landed full on.

Smoke and fragments of the tiles entombed any visual of Keenan, but Marcus knew for a fact that, unlike Shindo, he had collided into unsoftened ground.

"Thanks… buddy," he panted heavily, Agumon also feeling the strain, barely able to nod back. Forming a half Tiger, he added, "have a good rest…" and like that, he dispelled his summon, certain of his victory.

Harima Shinjin, the O'rin of Squad Ten, focused intently on the crater as the smoky cloud began to disperse, bamboozled by the sight before him, "WHAT IS THAT?"

Everyone followed his voice, looking down at the now visible crater in the tile floor, noticing particularly the pile in the centre; a hefty pile of sand.

"WHAT?" Marcus gagged in amazement: his technique had failed!

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_I… don't believe this! This kid is a monster! He seems unbeatable!_

_But what is this Spencer-sensei is talking about? Marcus has an ace in the hole?_

_**Next Episode: **__Burst Limit! Marcus's Trump Card!_

xxx

**A/N: **Yep, I am trying to incorporate as many Digimon into the story as possible, seeing as I'm currently following the Naruto plot like a loyal puppy, but I plan to change that slightly into an original work, but getting the basics down comes first.

And I've got the main mystery behind the story in my head right now, and to me in terms of the Tamer World, Digital World and Real Worlds of all of the characters from multiple seasons and universes seems rather applicable.

The answers, unfortunately, will need time and tweaking.

Anyway, please review!


	21. Episode Twenty One

**A/N: **Chapter twenty one has arrived, and last time we left Marcus, he was in a bad way, straining his body to the limit with his _Delphinium Plunge _and had been tested by the troublesome sand shifting around Keenan, not to mention going all out with his maximum pace by removing his weights.

Yet he was surprised as he found that, where Keenan had landed, a pile of scattered sand had taken his place like a substitute.

How will he fair as we go on?

Also, the Takato and Henry match has been squeezed in to minimize the overrun into the next chapter, so it won't be that impressive, but I'll try- sorry for fans of the loser, I'll try my best to make him look good later on, I promise!

Sukeban – Female Bancho Character

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty One: Burst Limit! Marcus's Trump Card!**_

…

"WHAT?" Marcus repeated to himself, the small mound of sand at the nexus of impact, the centre of the crater, blowing away with the distorted wind caused by the twisting, almost cyclone like Tekina move.

"But how?" Spencer was in disbelief, scratching the back of his head tentatively, "When did he manage it?"

Satsuma clarified, "It was when you went in for a prayer and closed your eyes. At the same time, Marcus shut his eyes from the pain of using the technique; that's when he did it. You probably didn't notice it because of the large gourd, but before he was restrained, he threw his boomerang at the ground with high speed while everyone was distracted."

Sora raised a brow curtly, "What does that mean?"

"You'll see in a second. But the Keenan you saw collide into the ground was most likely a hollow shell he made from his sand."

Much to Marcus and Spencer's shuddering horror, a mass of sand behind the teen began to fluctuate and rise, giving rise to Keenan from the mass. This sand was created from his boomerang, which he had broken down into granules of sand behind Marcus's landing spot.

Raising his hand, his head bobbed low with Marcus looking at him nervously, he crushed some sand hovering alongside his palm, reforming his boomerang and placing it beneath his gourd again, his maddened eyes lifting and his evil grin widening.

Daiyo lunged forth to the railing, _Damn it… that thing was stirred up by the threat he just faced! If he doesn't calm down-he'll fully awaken!_

Keenan upheld his evil grin, chortling darkly as he formed a strange seal, locking all but his index fingers together, extending the two into an altered Tiger, stirring up the sand behind him through his control, raising it into a large tidal wave with the addition of the sand in his gourd still.

"_Imperial_ _Sand Tide!_" his raspy voice echoed, the towering tidal wave of sand crashing down, the azure beast of Team Spencer still exhausted before it, slapping the first wave away, but crossing his arms as the second lifted him up and forced him to crash into the wall beneath the Sandstorm walkway again.

A striking spear like jab from a horde of sand collided into the wall where Marcus was, the boy barely managing to raise his hands before being compressed.

Keenan licked his cracked lips, his facial armour not fully restored, as if some delectable dark beauty were present in his vicious assault, his sand pulling back to reveal a huge dent in the wall, the centre of it Marcus-shaped, the boy himself on a knee, gasping desperately for air before the monstrous child.

Sora just couldn't help but note, "W-why isn't he using that speed of his? It worked at dodging the sand before!"

Spencer was vacant, "For a very, very plain and simple reason; he can't dodge them, he can hardly twitch at this point."

Kudamon whipped his head back atop Satsuma's shoulder-perch, "You see, the _Plunge _is a double edged sword of a manoeuver. As one of the few forbidden," he looked at Spencer with restraint, "techniques practised in Tekina. As it is hand to hand combat, the move requires extreme effort and strain by the muscles. Although he has altered it to reduce damage to himself by having his partner perform it with him, Marcus is in so much pain right now, he can't dodge very well. He has nothing to feel shame over, though. As a child who can utilize it, it should be expected of him to be exhausted."

"No way…" Sora jerked back to face the fight, "but at this rate, he'll…"

Spencer felt a churn in the pit of his gut as he watched Marcus sidestep the sand onslaught, only to be swatted back by it again, _Marcus…_

oOo

_Cries sounded throughout the street, yet not one adult went to the back alley it was originating from, all of them too busy or too scared, after all, they were mere village folk, not toughened Tamers._

_The cry was from a short, four year old girl in the back alley, her caramel hair knotted into two short pig tails tied by small pink ribbons, matching her face as she wailed, tears cascading down her face and onto her blue dress. _

_Three boys surrounded her, throwing her favourite doll back and forth like the stereotypical bully, all of them easily six years older than her._

_The ringleader, a fat boy that resembled a beachball, grew tired of her wails, sauntering over and roughly grabbing her by the arm, tugging her ear close, "Will you shut up? This is our area now, and our rule is; no goody-goodies!"_

"_B-buch," she cried, her cracked voice incomprehensible, "thish wash were me and Marcush played! It's our place!"_

"_Marcus? Oh! You mean the kid who's failing at the school at everything? What did we call him… 'Mr. Spirited Loser'!"_

"_MARCUSH!" the little girl cried out, he boys around her juddering, one of them throwing her favourite doll at her head. Luckily it was a soft beanie doll, like a plush, but emotionally it hurt her like a wrecking ball, "HELP ME!"_

_Suddenly, a shadow burst at the entrance to the alleyway, Marcus's ten year old form coming into sight, "GET AWAY FROM KRISTY!"_

"_Shut up, loser!" the snobbish leader snapped, agitated when Marcus roughly shoved past him to hug Kristy's quivering form, reaching also for her plushie doll and gently placing it in her small hands._

"_There, there… big bro's here now; he won't let you get hurt."_

"_Clone Technique!" the leader burst out, a basic copy of himself coming up beside him, pacing toward Marcus menacingly, "Spirited Loser… you can't do Genina, Seiina and you suck at even Tekina; what can you defend her from, eh?"_

"_Say what you want, but how can the Ultimate Fighter become great, knowing he couldn't defend his little sister from a fatbody like you," he defensively stood in front of Kristy, "and his doofus friends?"_

"_GET HIM!"_

…

_Hours later, back in the Damon household, Marcus was being attended to by his mother, the kindly lady with long caramel hair carefully placing bandaids around his bruised, bumpy face, Kristy colouring in a book with a cheery hum._

"_Honestly, Marcus…" his mother worriedly began, "do you know how worried I get when you come back to me like this? I get that you have to protect your sister, but running away would have spared you these bruises just as well as you shielding her!"_

_Marcus groaned, a sore spot getting covered, "But mom… how can I become the Ultimate Fighter if I just run away? It'd look bad when I remember it in the future!"_

_His mother sighed vehemently, "Honestly, you and your father are peas in a pod… I bet he's still saying those silly things on his mission right now. An elite O'rin acting like a child…"_

"_But dad is the Ultimate Fighter right now! I need to get strong and replace him! Even though I can't use Genina and Seiina like the others, I can work on my Tekina and grow strong!"_

"_I know that dear." She petted his head, blood rushing to his cheeks, "If you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you want to."_

"_RIGHT!"_

_..._

_It was several months later that Marcus managed to pass the K'rin Exams and become an official Tamer, and, after a wordless meeting with Thomas and Yoshi, their sensei walked in, Marcus astounded to see who it was._

"_D-!"_

_Spencer slapped a finger in front of his curvaceous mouth, "No, I am not your father, and I won't baby any of you. Come with me, and only address me as Spencer-sensei."_

_Now outside in the second floor mosaic like area of the school Squad Seven used four years later, Spencer sat against the railing before the seated three, scanning each of them equally._

"_Well, let's start with introductions. My name is Spencer Damon, your O'rin sensei from today onwards. My hobbies are training and working toward defeating my friendly rival, Satsuma-sensei. My dream is to retire peacefully with my wife and two children, Kristy and Marcus."_

_Yoshi jolted up in her seat, "Wait, you're his dad? Isn't that a little- offsetting?"_

"_No, you see, I have a specific reason for captaining this Squad, but I can assure you; I will note dote on him in any way. I will be hard on him, as I will be hard on you. In the Tamer world, if I let up because I'm soft, the Squad suffers. Anyway," he shifted his glance to Thomas, "you first, Thomas."_

_The blonde shook his head slowly, "I don't feel like answering; I just need training, not sentimentality."_

_Spencer grinned with interest, moving his eyes to Yoshi's still perturbed face, "You next, young lady."_

_Coming to attention, Yoshi answered, "W-well… I, uh… would like to become a great female Tamer, just like Lady Sukeban!"_

"_A fine goal, and what about you, Marcus?"_

_Marcus thrust his hand into the air, garnering quizzical looks around him, "Sensei, I want to prove that not having Genina or Seiina in the Tamer world still allows you to be a Tamer! I want to prove myself as a Tekina specialist!"_

…

"_You sure don't know when to quit," Yoshi sighed as Marcus ploughed through the dirt in defeat, "of course you can't beat Thomas; he's a prodigal genius of the Norstien clan!"_

_Thomas was cold in his reproach, "Marcus, you have to understand this. You cannot defy the path the heavens have set you on; it leads to disaster, injury and death. No matter how hard you work, you can't hope to beat me."_

_Grumbling, he stood back up._

_Thomas had just made it fifty two wins to zero wins against Marcus._

…

_Marcus dangled from the tree limb near the top, nearly thirteen feet off of the ground, the tops of his feet the only thing hooking his body onto the limb, the boy himself doing precarious pull ups on the tree branch, a small puddle of cascaded sweat drops beneath him._

"_Thirty eight! Thirty nine!" he numbered them, "If I can't manage at least one hundred, it's fifty squats as punishment!"_

_Little did the young K'rin know, his father was hidden in the brambles of the tree near him, watching him intently, "That kid of mine…"_

…

"_If I can't do fifty squats, I'll kick the tree trunk eighty times!" Marcus barked to himself in the empty forest training area, crouching down and squatting back up after he had fallen from the tree limb at eighty nine, his body teetering on total burn out._

_And after reaching forty two, it finally did, the boy feeling a jabbing inside his shins, falling flat on his face, Spencer going to step out of the tree brambles, but noticing his son still twitching, sniffs mixing in with them, rendering him silent as Marcus writhed on the ground, using his chin to try and move to the bark of the tree before him, his face drenched with tears, mucus and sweat; his body put out everything to try and cool down, and his insides hurt too, emotionally, it was like a pit fall._

_Leaping down quietly, Spencer stepped through the bushes, surprising the immobilized boy, "Marcus! You gonna quit now? You do know that while training is good, a break aids it as well."_

"_What is it… Spencer-sensei," the boy mumbled, pushing himself to his feet against the trunk, "if it's about me freezing on the mission, I said I was sorry."_

"_Marcus, while it may be true as Yoshi said, Thomas is a genius in his own right, and you in yours. You may not be able to apply Genina or Seiina, and your Tekina needs work, but I promise you, you will improve if you have the will to see things to their conclusion."_

"… _If you want to cheer me up, give it a rest, please…"_

_Spencer snickered, "Why would I do that? You have the potential to become the Ultimate Fighter you've dreamed of becoming, son, because you are a genius when it comes to having an iron, unshakable will."_

"_Yeah, and what good has that done me? I had the will to protect Kristy from those bullies, I had my face smashed in by them and their Genina! I had the will to challenge Thomas many times, and I failed on every single one of them. Some Ultimate Fighter I am… even though I train three times harder than him, Thomas is still stronger than me… maybe he was right- maybe I'm destined to be a loser, I'll never live up to being your son, dad."_

_Spencer contorted his face and clenched his fists, "Hard work pays off, but only for those with the will to shape their destinies, Marcus! You have that will, and no matter what you may think, it will pay off!"_

"_Dad…"_

"_I wasn't always the manly beast of a beautiful warrior you see before you; I was once in the same situation against Satsuma, but now with hard work, guts and my lovely family, I have all the tools I need to beat him. You want to be a Tekina specialist like me, don't you? Well, that is a goal worth striving for, with all your might!"_

oOo

_He was right! Dad said it'd pay off, and look how far I've come, _Marcus pondered as he began dodging Keenan's sand attacks with a quickly hastening pace, his speed and strength slowly returning at an amazing rate.

Kudamon frowned atop Satsuma's shoulder, _No way… that healing, it couldn't be!_

Sora was also in disbelief, "Even though the technique had him so damaged and drained a minute ago… how is Marcus doing that."

Spencer snickered, "Because he's resorting to 'that'… have you ever heard the saying, 'Spring Comes Around Twice For The Worthy'?"

"Yeah… Tai told me it in the Forest, he said Marcus wanted me to hear it," she recalled, tapping her forehead, "what does it mean exactly?"

Down in the arena, Marcus panted excessively on his feet, Keenan glaring at him, "You're finished here…"

His opponent brushed that off with a quick, broad smile, "Well, either way, this will be my final move; let's test how strong your defence really is!"

Satsuma seemed perturbed, removing his glasses, his Surugan eye closed, but his face covered with building beads of cold sweat, "Idiot! You can't possibly mean that you taught him how to enter the _Eight Ascendant States_!"

"Exactly," Spencer hummed in confession, ignoring Satsuma and his partner's glares, "that K'rin can utilize the _Delphinium Plunge_, so it is only natural that he had the ability to activate them."

"Even so! The technique itself causes huge strain on the body, yet you proceeded to teach that kid something like the _Forceful Lily _combination- how many states can he activate?"

Thomas heard a slithering quake in his voice when he said, _…Forceful Lily?_

Satsuma traded scowls with Spencer, "Listen, I understand your connection to the boy, but to go to such extreme length to ensure he is the strongest here… you've fallen low, Spencer."

"Be quiet. You know nothing about how he grew and the bumpy road he travelled; you know absolutely NOTHING of his hardships! He strives for a worthy goal, so what harm was there in me teaching him a powerful means to achieve it?"

oOo

"_Marcus, today I'll be teaching you a new technique…"_

"_AWESOME!" the thirteen year old Marcus cheered to himself a year prior, his voice reverberating throughout the forest training area, but causing Spencer to twitch in agitation._

"_MARCUS, THIS IS SERIOUS, SO BE QUIET!" he vilely shouted, the boy covering his mouth with both hands like clamps, "I'll be teaching you a technique that is even more forbidden than the Plunge, an extension of the technique, you might call it. It'll be you ultimate trump card, but you must only activate it on one strict condition."_

oOo

_It seems I have finally found an opponent who has forced that criteria upon me, _Marcus chided lowly, crossing his arms before his face and shutting his eyes, albeit not defensively, surprising Keenan's more active sand, the boy bringing it back to see what Marcus was doing.

_That kid has healed himself rapidly all this time because he activated the Trance State…, _Satsuma looked across, repeating his inquiry, "Spencer, how many of the States can he enter?"

Spencer didn't even look back to him, "Five States."

"At his age?" Kudamon intercepted, looking down in amazement, _That boy is truly a genius if he can manage such a feat so young…_

Sora had been left out of the loop long enough, "Alright, can somebody explain what these 'States' you keep talking about are?"

Spencer articulated, "It's the process in the body that must be bypassed in order to activate the _Forceful Lily _art of Tekina."

Satsuma opened his Surugan eye and gazed down at Marcus, noticing the chikara boost around his body like a thick aura, "You see, along the chikara system there are certain regulators that ensure the flow is balanced and doesn't damage the body. But these can be turned into generators of sorts with one of the ultimate Tekina techniques, the _Eight Ascendant States_, in which you pressure these regulators into overdrive, increasing chikara by ten times or more.

Kudamon continued while the O'rin focused with his Surugan, "They are known as the States, and once entered; the person secures the human version of Burst Mode, where a body is pushed to its maximum. They are placed in order of entrance; the Euphoric State, the Trance State, the Jolt State, the Trigger State, the Overdrive State, the Agony State, the Celestial State and the Final State. While powerful, it is forbidden due to the immense damage it causes during extended use."

Spencer went on, "The _Delphinium Plunge _forcibly enters the first, the Euphoric State, releasing the brain's limits on the muscles to maximise natural bodily potential. You've seen the results of that. Even though he achieved this, he is still a boy, so he and Agumon work together to reduce damage and strain, but it still has an effect. So he entered the Trance State to increase his metabolism and heal faster, but it is at the Jolt State that his strength skyrockets to the required level for _Forceful Lily_."

Sora gasped, "But if only activating the first affected him that much-!"

Satsuma sighed, putting his glasses back on to conceal his Surugan, "Indeed. With the maximum Burst Mode, the true form of human strength as a Tamer, entered completely with the Final State, you can far surpass the Shas themselves, but you will tear your body to pieces and die as a certainty for the momentary boost…"

Tai gaped, looking down at Marcus and the energy that visibly circled him with a thick digital code shroud, "What's happening to him?"

Kudamon gulped, "The DNA charge has appeared; he actually entered it!"

Marcus, in the centre of the thick orange shroud of flickering digital code had veins popping alongside his temples, erupting furiously all along his skin, his eyes becoming wider and wider, his sclera becoming dull as he thought, _Matt, Thomas and Tai… I want to fight them all, but what good will I be, if this short pipsqueak beats me? I can't lose here! Spencer-sensei… dad, please let this work! This is my last chance! _

Spencer smiled at the powerful beast he had created.

His arms still crossed, Marcus began to effect the local area, the tiles beneath his cracking beneath the pressure of his DNA charge around him, the air blowing away from him at high speed, Keenan's cold eyes slowly opening up with realization at the beast before him, "_The Third State; Jolt State, Release!"_

_-_ _It'll be you ultimate trump card, but you must only activate it on one strict condition- To defend your own path from assault, never let anyone try and deprive you of your path to becoming the Ultimate Fighter; defend it if THE need arises. You will understand one day what I mean._

Sora and Tai were astounded at his face, it was slightly red, and the veins had erected all across his head into his hair that blew up with the DNA charge's pressure.

"He released the Third State," Satsuma clarified anxiously, "now he'll begin his assault."

"Oh, no," Spencer disagreed, shaking his head, "not quite yet." _Go get him, son!_

"_The Fourth State; Trigger State, Release!" _Marcus agonizingly released, the pressure further increasing and repulsing the air, and the tiles giving way beneath him as if escaping. His veins further protruded within his body with his cries of pain, his nose beginning to bleed continuously, his eyes now pure.

Kudamon flinched against the energy he was sensing from Marcus's unique DNA charge, _A DNA charge is the only visible type of natural chikara, but for it to also bring this much pressure at the Fourth State; what a guy…_

Hunching down with strain, Marcus's red skinned form leapt forward, his body flickering out of sight again, but this time, the tiled ground behind his initial starting point gave way and succumbed to his powerful leg muscles and speed, flipping up and bursting, creating a thick dust cloud while Marcus contacted with the first kick of the _Delphinium Plunge _combo, sending Keenan soaring up into the air through the dust cloud, the air repelling from where he had been kicked in the chin, forcing many to shield themselves.

"KEENAN!" Daiyo called out to the dust cloud.

Tai beside him tried to see through it as well, "WHAT HAPPENED, THEY'RE GONE!"

Joe was the first to look up, "UP THERE!"

Keenan's body shifted in the air, dust peeling away from his body as he rose. His bodily sand armour chipped away slowly but surely, starting from the heavily damaged chin section of the armour.

In his high speed, Marcus flexed his arm back, leaping at the speed of sound between the walls and ceiling, finally getting to the ceiling and aiming his legs correctly in the intense state he was in, lunging down toward Keenan, "**HIDING BEHIND THAT SAND ARMOUR AGAIN… WELL, LET'S SEE IT STOP ME NOW**!"

His body phasing in before Keenan's face, he connected with a high speed kick, repelling the boy toward the floor, flickering just before there as well, sending him back and forth with an assortment of high speed blows that kept the slow moving sand unable to block him, chips clearly appearing every time he was struck.

Tsuki blanched in disbelief, _His sand can't keep up with his body now!_

Daiyo closed his eye habitually, sweatdropping, _He's in serious trouble…_

"**SO YOU CAN BE TOUGH WHEN YOUR SAND IS TAKEN AWAY**," Marcus's voice echoed ominously, giving credence to his vast speed, "**WELL, TAKE THIS!**"

He coiled a fist back as he leapt down from the ceiling toward Keenan once more, ripping and shredding sound echoing also because of his speed.

Satsuma, his Surugan revealed, gaped, "His muscles are literally tearing themselves to pieces because of the strain he's putting them under!"

Thomas has his Shuhengan activated, and he stared on, aghast at the dense chikara flowing throughout his teammate's body, _That's Marcus? When did he get so powerful?_

Marcus was moving so fast, his surroundings seemed to be standing still, allowing him to shift uneasily as he approached Keenan, "_**The Fifth State, Overdrive State, RELEASE!**_"

Keenan felt fear, a strange, rare thing in the boy who lifted his arms in a futile defence, _No human can move like this! I can't defend myself from this pounding!_

_Are you watching Thomas? Enjoy the show, because this is my trump card against you, _flitting out again at an even greater jet like speed, Marcus slammed his fist into Keenan's scarcely armoured gut, repelling him down, but with his bandage wrapped around his waist jerked back by Marcus, the teen readied for it, lifting his palm for a thrust and bending his coinciding leg with his arm, both being thrust down at bursting speeds into Keenan's gut again, "_**FORCEFUL LILY**__~!" _

The orange sheen of his DNA charge erupted through his palm and leg, piercing through Keenan's body and creating a jet stream of air beneath the two as Keenan began shooting down to the ground at high speed.

As Keenan descended, a loud crack was heard, his gourd and boomerang breaking down into their base form when not compressed; Sand.

Another bang sounded, dust erupting from the weight of Keenan's high velocity body mass, Marcus falling on the floor as well, writhing in agony at the torn tendons in his arms and strained muscles in his legs, panting aloud along with the cracking of the tiled floor and falling chips of tile that rained down.

Kudamon strained his brows, _What a kid… even after that pounding he was subjected to, he-_

As the dust settled, everyone was aghast at Keenan's survival, a large cushion of sand shielding him from the impact he had just suffered, and his armour all but torn off by the flurry, but the boy still breathed, albeit heavily.

Spencer looked on in horror, _Unbelievable! He spared himself the brute force of the impact with the sand used in the gourd and boomerang!_

Keenan shakily lifted his right hand up, clutching it in a way before his eyes that would crush Marcus, some of the sand acting as a bed for him rushing toward Marcus, the teen incapable of getting away as the sand wrapped itself around his left arm and left leg.

_Impossible, he survived the Fifth State and the Forceful Lily, and is still able to attack, _he disbelievingly concluded, pulling away from the sand futilely, hardening to be like a cast around his limbs.

Izzy could barely watch, _I know what's coming now!_

_-_ _Keenan looked up at the man with a blank face beneath the straw outcrop of the hat before raising his controlling palm to the shell, "Desert Grave!" he coldly put as he clamped his hand into a fist. The horrific scene became ripe with blood as it rained down from the compressed sand high above, Jirobo crushed beneath the sand, his face splattered with his essence as the sand covered over his face as well, another compression going on beneath as the bloody rain slowed and stopped, the boy behind it throwing his hat away as if nothing had happened._

"_Desert Grave!_" Keenan coldly announced, snapping his palm shut like a pair of ferocious fangs, his face cold and uncaring with his own fang like teeth bared.

Marcus wailed in excruciating pain as the sand compressed around his left arm and leg, the boy flopping back onto the ground, blacking out at the pain, _I can't lose… I'm… the Ultimate Fighter…_

A large quantity of sand went to finish the job, formulating into a large claw above Marcus, descending for a crushing blow, Keenan's eye open viciously, "NOW YOU DIE!"

Spencer had an internal battle, and lost against his better judgement.

A shadowy figure leapt down between the sand claw and Marcus's body, sweeping the claw away with a back fist of such foreboding power, the sand broke apart, revealing Spencer standing sternly, his eyes filled with a deep discontent of looking at Keenan's face, the boy stupefied as he sat up on the sand bedding.

Daiyo… Tsuki… his adoptive father… Yukimura… his actual parents…

Keenan clasped his head in his hand like a vice, his eyes untrained and darting on the ground as several painful memories surfaced at once, pressuring his psyche.

Opening one eye, the black encased gold eye pierced through Spencer, although the O'rin did not flinch, "W-why… he failed miserably! Why would you spare someone not strong?"

"I don't know what sort of monster raised you kid," Spencer casually replied, his tone laced in something dark, "but I take care of my precious son, even at the risk of my status, reputation and life. I don't care if he's strong or not; he's my son, and my precious comrade also."

_-Spencer-sensei! I can finally get to the second State! I'm getting stronger and stronger all the time!_

_-Soon, I'll prove it; at the T'rin Exams, I'll make you proud and prove that I can care for our family!_

_-_ _Sensei, I want to prove that not having Genina or Seiina in the Tamer world still allows you to be a Tamer! I want to prove myself as a Tekina specialist!_

"Pre…cious?" Keenan repeated as if the term were alien.

Torune, his sensei, tightened his face, _Words that he couldn't even begin to comprehend… such a basic sentiment, and he can't understand. It's honestly depressing._

Keenan stood up, the sand from all around the arena picking up and hovering back to him, reforming the gourd and boomerang in place, with the rest, even his armour sand, breaking down and re-entering the gourd, "That's enough…" he mumbled, staggering away after the shaky feel left in his legs. He had received no damage because of the armour, but his legs still quaked a little.

Kuzan took a deep breath, "Due to intervention, the winner of the eleventh match is Keenan…"

"MARCUS!" Sora cried out, lunging for the railing to leap down.

"Sora!" Satsuma beckoned, stopping her in her tracks, "Stay here. He's injured from entering the Overdrive State, not to mention his crushed arm and leg. You going down there will only succeed in hurting his pride also."

She grumbled, but stepped back as ordered, grovelingly accepting the truth in his warning.

Tsuki smirked with a sweat bead on her face, _When he inhibited his power like that, I was scared that Keenan might be hit through the armour… lucky he didn't manage to actually hit him, otherwise that thing might've been stirred up…_

Tai was not in earshot of Satsuma's request, leaping over the railing to the ground below, running toward Marcus and Spencer. Upon passing Keenan, the two shared a brief snarl at each other, although it was quickly over as he raced past him.

"MEDICS, WHERE ARE YOU?" Kuzan yelled, bereft of his cough in his serious manner as the stretcher arrived, one of the three medics that came out quickly inspecting Marcus, coming to a heart rending conclusion.

"Spencer… you're this kid's O'rin instructor, right?" he gestured for him, "Please come here quickly…"

The O'rin complied as the other two hoisted Marcus onto the stretcher, his arm and leg dripping heavily with blood.

"Listen, the damage to his muscular tendons throughout the body is severe due to the State he entered, which would ordinarily be treatable with regenerative Genina, but with the crush syndrome of his arm and leg to worry about, we can't fully heal him without his body pumping toxins through his veins to try and aid the problem itself. With basic care, we can at least make him fit for using a crutch, but we are not skilled enough for the rest. I'm sorry, but his days as a K'rin are over."

Spencer and Tai twitched. It was a mistake, wasn't it?

"N-no way… he's wrong, right, Marcus?" Tai blubbered disbelievingly, his older brother figure in the Exams being taken away, his eyes dully following as the three medics vanished to the emergency room with Marcus, "Hey, he can't be done! He still wants to fight Matt and Thomas; he just can't be finished!"

Kudamon leapt gracefully through the air from the second level, landing precisely around Tai's neck, straightening up to meet his ear, "That's exactly what caused this… to want to be able to fight those two and you, he resorted to a make it or break it forbidden technique. He so desperately wanted to fight you that he pushed Keenan to the brink. Risking his life to fight you and the others… you should never forget the bravery he showed today."

Thomas was vacant, hollowed out, _Marcus… I told you again and again… yet you never heeded my warnings; the heavens and fate put you on a certain path that can't be defied! Risking it all like that… you fool._

Keenan stared blankly at the entrance to the Hall of Conflict after Marcus for a moment before he broke his body down into sand again, reforming beside Torune and Tsuki, "Good job, Keenan," his step sister assured.

"Spencer," the former exalted Knight Digimon spoke up, "I'm sure I speak for Satsuma as well when I say that we were wrong earlier; given your familial connection, he probably would've done the same thing in your shoes. But we have to go back upstairs; the next match needs to start."

"… Right…"

…

Kuzan coughed, "Well then… the second to last match, the twelfth, will now be decided."

The screen flickered with the last four names, the last pair it would need to call, ending on the following two opponents; 'TAKATO MATSUKI' vs 'HENRY WONG'. That meant for the final match, JP and Shindo would be competing to wrap up the preliminaries and give the final thirteen competitors for the third and final test.

"Will these two please come down for the twelfth match?"

Rika, having remained relatively silent on all matches not including her Squad, finally spoke up to invigorate Takato, "Alright, goggle head! Remember that the team we've faced has a variety of techniques, like Seiina and the ability copy granted by the Digivice. This Henry guy seems calm, so I guess he must have some trump card."

"So it's the leaders, mano-e-mano," Kazu put in, "good luck, Takato!"

He raised his hand for a high five, but Takato shook his head at it.

"What do you mean, 'leader'? I'm the leader!" Rika chided.

"You're kidding, right? If it hadn't been for that attack you mimicked off Renamon, you'd have been turned into lion chow by Jeri!" _Still, I'm worried; Takato can only use his specialty once for about three seconds…_

Takato put his hands up between them, gesturing for peace, "It's okay! I'll make it three that pass, alright?"

Henry was already down in the centre of the arena, awaiting Takato with folded arms, _He seems like a nice guy… but looks can be deceiving; look how close Jeri got to winning even though she looks fragile._

Harima puffed out his smoke, _So it's finally here… but that Matsuki kid is from a dying clan, so he can't use that yet, can he? Last I checked, it was classified as a sacred B rank hidden technique of his clan that not even the Raisha of the Hidden Storm is allowed knowledge of; Raiten Taiso- Thunder in Heaven, Great Vigor… his clan thouroghly spliced copied electric Digimon attacks to compose it, making them also recognized as a rival to the greatness of the Ishida clan…_

"Alright, I'm off." Takato ended, leaping over the railing to the ground floor, walking into position, face to face with Henry, "I wish you luck. It'd be a shame if all three of you went out here."

"Thanks…" Henry crudely replied, Kuzan sensing tension between the supposed team leaders.

"If you are ready, you may commence," the proctor coughed, stepping back.

Henry took matters into his own hands at the start, weaving quickly the seals Ram and Dog, pushing his hand into his pouch and retrieving two shuriken, Takato lunging back, _What was with those seals… what's he done?_

Henry threw the two shuriken, Takato easily sidestepping them, turning his head back from a spin dodge to spot Henry performing a hand seal; Serpent.

"Is he faking seals to try and distract me or what?"

Henry smiled in his stance with the hand seal, his body suddenly being enveloped by the ground as if it were liquid, similar to the technique used by the Tamers Squad Seven defeated for their scroll.

Soon he had vanished, and Takato darted his eyes up and down to try and locate him.

"Behind you!" Kazu rallied, but his partner noticing late and getting punched from behind as a result by Henry, who reformed out of the destroyed tiles.

Satsuma focused, _The Earth Form, Earth Swim Technique… a rather difficult technique to learn, but still in the parameters of a K'rin._

"Hey, that's-!" Takato complained, rubbing the throb on his cheek, now grinning, "Fine, I'll end this now!"

"How might you do that?"

"Watch carefully, I'm not in the mood to let you use any other techniques- sorry, but I'm in a hurry now." Takato declared, agitated at noticing Henry apply a Tiger and Horse seal in sequence, deciding to end it all now before he could use any techniques. Weaving his own hand seals; Tiger, Dragon, Boar and Dog, his body flickering gold for a moment, sparking blue lightning crackling off of him, "_Raiten Taiso!_"

Harima blanched with sweat, _So he can use it!_

Before Henry could even blink, he found a powerful fist in his gut, sending him crashing back into the wall behind him with an audible bang, Takato's body relaxing and the electrical energy coming off of him like a shroud, the boy collapsing to a knee with a terrible gasp.

Kuzan didn't need to dawdle, quickly checking on Henry, the boy encased in the wall, out cold, "The winner is Takato Matsuki."

The Third Senksha was astounded, _To even be able to activate it, forget the limit shown by his three second use, is impressive. Very few Tamers and Digimon are faster than that; he had equal speed to Marcus in the Fourth State… amazing. These Storm Tamers are fearsome, as are the Sandstorm Tamers…_

"S-Satsuma-sensei, what did that boy just do?" Sora asked her sensei, Tai looking equally as interested.

"He used the Matsuki sacred technique; one of the most powerful in the Land of Sparks, if fully matured and mastered. It comprises of summoning all of your chikara at once, encasing yourself with a shell of lightning, boosting speed and power like the States, only flashier. However, it ends abruptly, therefore is less effective than Marcus's technique, especially in this K'rin, he only managed around three seconds before it left him."

"So it's forbidden like Marcus's move too?"

"No, but as a B Rank only taught in the thinning out clan, it is a lost art, and will soon die along with the Matsukis; this kid is probably a valuable member of the Hidden Storm since he can activate it at all."

…

With Henry being removed from the wall, the only match remaining was about to commence, Shindo Utsui and JP Shibayama stood front and centre for the thirteenth and final fight.

Kuzan cut down through the air like a knife, "Begin."

Shindo sighed, "Finally… to think it'd take this long…" _Anyway, my opponent is easy pickings; I just need to beat him and fight Matt. I do not plan on extending that man's will any further after the little ploy he placed us in back in that Forest. Bashiori sent us as assassins, chosen solely as a gauge for the boy and his affinity with the mark. What his interests are I don't know, but being taken for a mere tool… I'll kill the boy before that man messes with me again._

Squad Ten cheered him on, Mimi's cheerleader mode kicking in, "You can do it… TUBBY!"

JP twitched at that, jerking his head back to venomously warn, "Be careful, Mimi! I don't like being made fun of!"

"No problem, fatty, I'll just kick your ass and be done with it," Shindo goaded, an abstract look of boredom in his one revealed eye.

"Oh, you'll regret that, you mummified Sound freak!" JP spat, assuming a tight fighting stance that looked like simple tensing and clenching on his part, _I remember from the beginning of the Exams and when he attacked Marcus; he needs to be able to connect to my ears to damage me… in which case, _"_Body Expansion Technique!_"

With his altered Bird seal, his body burst out to the size of a large human ball, pulling his head and ears back inside the safety of his clothes as he began spinning like a tire, "This should protect my ears, and squash him like a bug! _BUU BALL ATTACK! _**CHUBBIES RULE!**"

"All right, JP, that's using your head!" Mimi cheered.

Joe cocked a half smirk on his part, _Since he conceals his ears in that large spinning ball, the sound wave attack can't affect him, and he can attack; a double positive move, nice!_

Shindo almost lazily jumped aside from the oncoming tire ball, the high speed attack altering it's course to aim back at Shindo, the mummy man leaping back against the wall and jumping aside when the ball came for him, the wall stopping his momentum as the Sound Tamer jumped behind the stopped human ball and punched him with the device bearing right arm.

"HAHAHA! That won't work on me; my ears are plugged and I've hidden them!" JP's voice muffled through the wall his head was against.

Shindo vehemently sighed, "I really hate people who don't understand biological facts of the body… let me simplify this; sound is made by air vibrations, which water allows passage to throughout it. Now, since your body is seventy percent… oh, the hell with it, here we go."

Shindo flicked the side of his harmonica like device, the sound amplifying and travelling through JP's body in accordance with his will, dust rising amongst the vibrations on the ground as JP's ball form deflated to normal size, the boy dizzy and drooling from the attack.

Kuzan chuckled, "The winner is… Shindo Utsui."

Shindo began to walk away in his hunched over fashion, clenching his fists as he went, _Bashiori… you deceptive bastard… I'll prove to you I'm not a guinea pig. In the third test, I'll kill that Ishida kid you want so badly._

Squad Ten seemed disappointed, Joe sighing heavily, "He lost… and the guy wasn't even trying…"

Harima chuckled, "He may not have won, but the least we can do is take him for a stake for even getting down there in the first place…"

Kuzan coughed as the medics helped JP up and took him for attention, _Finally… the preliminaries are over and done with, _"With this, will the participants advancing please come down for a debriefing of the third and final test?"

The Third Senksha sagely guffawed, _Finally… the main event is nigh!_

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_Finally, these stupid prelims are over and done with! I feel bad that Sora couldn't be with me and blondie, but I guess things happen._

_Anyway, apparently this third test is a battle of some sort. I wonder who I'll be fighting; Matt, Thomas or the kid… what's his name… Keenan._

_**Next Episode: **__The Lots are Drawn, The Stakes are High!_

xxx

**A/N: **Well, this was a fun little chapter to make, concluding the prelims at last.

And our passing K'rin for the third test are;

Tsuki, Daiyo, Keenan, Thomas, Rika, Kazu, Takato, Tai, Matt, Shindo, Izzy and Joe.

Also, Raiten Taiso is me paying homage to Negima and the magical boost of the same name and conception, so I found the title appropriate.

Please review on your thoughts.


	22. Episode Twenty Two

**A/N: **Twenty two in, and hopefully many to go.

The Prelims are finally over and done with, but what is the fallout and what is the third test?

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty Two: The Lots are Drawn, The Stakes are High!**_

…

"Well, on behalf of all of the T'rin and O'rin sensei here, I would like to extend my gratitude for your grit in battle; you have impressed many today," the Third Senksha proclaimed, the passing contestants in a single file line, stretched out before him; Tai, Izzy, Joe, Shindo, Tsuki, Daiyo, Keenan, Thomas, Takato, Rika, Kazu stood front and centre, Matt the only one missing from the line-up.

Sora was up on the second level with her sensei, but couldn't hold back any longer, "Satsuma-sensei… I have something I want to ask you about."

Her teacher blinkingly looked across, "You mean Matt? I don't know… I was going to go and check on him, but… Sora, I think Tai needs your attention more right now. Pay close attention to the instructions and relay it to me later. Kudamon will stay with you to update you on what he was like when I last checked."

Leaping from shoulder to shoulder, Kudamon watched with Sora as Satsuma burst into smoke, vanishing with the _Flash Step Technique_; high speed travel.

The Third tipped his hat humorously, chuckling to himself, _What a true bevy of talent we have this year. Including Matt, there are five K'rin from the Terra Village, three from the Sandstorm Village, three from the Storm Village and one from the Note Village… all in all, even having twelve out of thirteen is a feat. _"Listen up. I will now reveal the purpose and means to compete in the third trial."

oOo

Bashiori gazed out to the distant Terra Village from the grand Shinto Shrine on the outskirts, leaning against a battered but graceful red pillar at the entrance, Kurata kneeling before him, head bowed in respect.

"… and that is the full report on the passing contestants, my lord. The third trial shall soon be at hand," the bespectacled man reported, standing up and tapping the bridge of said glasses.

Bashiori's pale face contrasted greatly with the O'rin grab he sported, making his sour face even more apparent, the man looking at birds overhead, "This Village has become a cesspit of serenity since I was forced to flee twenty years ago… how truly boring; as an old acquaintance of mine once said, 'stagnation is the path to confliction'."

Kurata hummed, "Indeed… as the neighbouring countries silently increase military capabilities, the Hidden Terra Village has become hum drum… could we take it now?"

"Of course. But trying to taking the old geezer's head might hinder the process… so for now, we wait."

Kurata lowered his eyes, "Yet you are still hesitant to act regardless."

Bashiori couldn't help but scowl with his serpentine features.

"From this moment forth, various Hidden Villages will clash at the T'rin Exam with K'rin representatives… in a long, drawn out spectacle that will distract the unwary. However, you need the boy as a pivotal piece before you act to use as a bullet," he tapped his nose, "Yamato Ishida."

Bashiori lightened his naturally dark features, "Such an intellect and intuitive sense of place… you really are different from others, aren't you?"

"Intuitive? Not at all; I challenged Shindo, Hanai and Shiori to inspect their worthiness of the mission you sent them on. Of course, I overestimated my endurance to your underlings and their abilities… quite frightening, in truth. The fact you didn't forewarn me of that is probably citing, dare I say, _distrust_."

Bashiori grew a slithering smile, "Well, was it really necessary for me to confide in you, my personally chosen right hand man, about something as insignificant as those three? Besides, you had to feign being that pitiful before them in your little act," his creeping voice chortled, "as a sign and token of my faith in you, I will allow you to care for young Matt in my stead while he recovers."

"Oh, why might that be?"

"They'll be preparing all kinds of countermeasures, and I grow tiresome of bypassing security like I did in the second test. Satsuma and that infernal ferret of his have applied a special hazard seal on the boy, but it'll have no effect on delaying it. His hatred of Tsurugi trumps my own, after all. In fact, why don't you go and… 'extract him' for me?"

"How unlike you," Kurata deviated, "to have such anxiety before making a move."

"Well, something struck me as a little off in the Forest." His master looked away, his yellow, slit eyes tightening and frightening the birds that landed nearby.

The man smiled gravely, "Is it Taichi Kamiya?"

_A perceptive one, this one is, _"Matt is one of the final Ishidas in the world, Tsurugi and his little brother included, but he cannot rest easy until he manages revenge against Tsurugi… however, for him to come to me, the Brand of Friendship must be empowered by ditching his comrades. However, the young boy seemed persisted by Tai. The sooner they are parted, the faster the show can commence."

Kurata sweatdropped, turning his back on his master and beginning to stride away.

"Kurata, if you truly desire to have at me, you best forget it. You are only at Satsuma's level, so you'd have no chance. Your only hope," he licked his lips menacingly, the servant having ground to a halt, "is to assassinate Matt in his hospitalized state. But I have faith in you, so go."

oOo

The Third continued, "As you have just done, you shall be contesting in battles to show off your abilities as Tamers, but with only the number of summoning restraints still applied now having effect in the third trial. You need time to prepare, as you will be representing the pride of your nations, which is why you shall all be sent home for one month of preparation and rest."

"We're not doing it right here, right now?" Tai queried in surprise.

"This break, you might say, is for you to better ready yourselves, especially since you have all just competed in an unprecedented preliminary battle."

Thomas cocked his head to the side, "What exactly are you blathering on about?"

"The various lords and Daimyo's I mentioned earlier need to have invitations sent, not to mention preparations on our side. This also bequeaths you a month of rest and training to ready yourselves."

_This old guy is so cryptic, _Daiyo chided, "Well, that's good and all, but why do we need to go home for preparation?"

"You have all just competed in battles in front of your opponents here; they know your tricks now, so this will act as a way for you all to ready some strategies and prepare new techniques to regain your element of surprise, which every Tamer must learn to rationalize with. If there are no other questions, I will see you all in one month!"

oOo

The EKG machine made pulsing pings inclined with Matt's heart rate, the boy unconscious beneath a large blanket, his mouth and nose enclosed by a rebreathing mask and his eyes blindfolded. The critical wing hospital room was surrounded by bloody spatter, three DATS members deceased around the room, Kurata casually walking toward the bed side, scalpel drawn.

The man sighed, "We were both unfortunate. To catch the eye of Lord Bashiori so early in our lives." _And to think this boy also bares such a grudge of blood sworn hatred… and for it to be twisted on him, he'll be ripe for Lord Bashiori's special Genina. And if that happens, this boy will…_

He pulled his scalpel up, pushing it closer and closer to Matt's throat, before reacting to a presence behind him, tossing the surgical tool back under his arm, Satsuma grasping it with a single hand at the doorway.

"Well, well… it seems that a sudden attack won't be enough on you, will it Satsuma?" Kurata rhetorically quipped, not looking back from Matt.

Satsuma tossed the scalpel aside, scowling, "You aren't a real K'rin, are you? To notice my presence while I took precautions against alerting you, not to mention using my blind spot to throw the blade. What a guy you are…"

"No, I'm nothing all that special."

Satsuma took a brisk, threatening step forward, "What did you intend to do to Matt? Depending on your answer, after I restrain you, I'll let Kaname work his torturous magic."

Kurata snidely chortled, turning back, "Really? Someone as pitiful as you, stop me?"

_To easily kill three DATS members in succession… ones I personally chose, _"Hang on… your name… that was it again? Akihiro Kurata, the adopted son of the chief medical officer of the medic corps. I thought you were supposed to be a klutzy Tamer in the T'rin Exams."

"A word to the wise; prepare at least ten next time, so that I can at least break a sweat," the supposed K'rin quipped again, evidently mocking Satsuma.

"Answer me," Satsuma heralded with a powerful tone in his voice, "what are you really doing here? You're linked with Bashiori, aren't you?"

Kurata couldn't help hold back his dark smile, "What of it? Even if you somehow managed to restrain me, you'll never prove I have a connection with him. It's something you'll find out on your own eventually, so how about stepping aside before I make you the fourth body in this room?"

"Smart-alecky brat. You really need to respect adults," Satsuma hissed, retracting a kunai from his pouch in a reverse grip.

Responding, Kurata withdrew his own kunai, which resembled a miniature sitar blade with a curved end, "Please, you think I'll act weakly like before? I know the customary treatment of spies by DATS, so I do not plan on being caught here." He pulled his hand back, switching the blade into his right hand and holding it over Matt's throat, "I have the advantage in this situation anyway."

Satsuma jolted up, his eyes narrowed behind his tinted shades. His nostrils flaring, he made a dive toward Kurata as he lowered the blade, slapping it aside, following up with a judo like restraint technique slamming him down.

One of the DATS bodies jerked, leaping up and making a break for the door.

Satsuma watched as he was stopped by two shadow clones he prepared at the door, _I thought as much._

What he hadn't prepared for was the shattering of glass behind him, another member of DATS lunging through the window and falling down into the trees below, escaping while Satsuma scowled, dismissing his clones.

Walking over, he investigated the now limp body of Kurata, finding a line of stitching around the base of the chin and jugular area, _As I thought… the Incorporation Technique, whereby you implant chikara into a dead body and maintain control at a close range. But to also attach a false skin to a body and completely stop his heart and scent… If Bashiori has got guys as skilled as him in his legion, I'll have to be more careful._

oOo

"Oh," The Third slapped his forehead, rubbing his eyes and summoning the line-up back, "before you go, there is an additional task." Gesturing to Daisy, she pulled out a scroll and with it summoned a box, walking over to the K'rin, "In that box are numbered pieces of paper. If you could relay to Kaname the number when asked, that would be great."

The numbers were pulled one by one, each K'rin receiving cautious glares, Tai's bordering on vicious when Thomas picked his out.

"Alright, from my right, call out your numbers and I'll record them." Kaname beckoned the lot, focusing on his clipboard now.

Tai spoke up, "Number one, naturally."

Izzy mumbled in his ineptly bored fashion, "Six."

Joe sighed, "Unlucky number nine."

Shindo lowly heralded, "I got eight…"

Tsuki, "Ten."

Daiyo expressed, "Five."

Keenan vacantly replied, "Three…"

Thomas answered, "I got two."

Takato raised his paper, "Seven over here."

Rika recited hers, "I got eleven."

"And I got twelve," Kazu delightedly released, sensing where this whole numerical system was leading.

Kaname wrote as the numbers came to him, "And Matt Ishida will be number four… there, take a gander."

Turning the board over, the Terra K'rin all gaped, most others sweatdropping (Keenan, naturally, deadpan as usual), the Third speaking up, "These are the final lots for the tournament, and these are the set up blocks for the final tournament that is the third trial!"

The set up was a basic line diagram of two pillars to each higher pillar in tournament diagram fashion, the matches reading as follows;

MATCH ONE: TAICHI KAMIYA vs THOMAS NORSTIEN

MATCH TWO: KEENAN vs YAMATO ISHIDA

MATCH THREE: DAIYO vs IZZY IZUMI

MATCH FOUR: TAKATO MATSUKI vs SHINDO UTSUI

MATCH FIVE: JOE KIDO vs TSUKI

MATCH SIX: RIKA NONAKA vs KAZU SHIODA

Izzy retained his silence, but Joe grumbled beside him, _A plain old tournament… please tell me I'm not going to be guilt tripped into avenging Mimi and JP…_

Shindo hummed to himself, _Battles like the one with tubby… that'll be a cinch._

_What? I worked my butt off and risked my life by being near Keenan and blood at the same time, and it was all for some tournament? _Tsuki sourly denoted in her mind.

Daiyo looked amazingly relieved, "At least I'm not in the block with Keenan," he whispered to himself.

Keenan's eyes contorted, _Matt Ishida…_

Looking across to his foe, Thomas snorted imperiously, _I get the joker right off the bat._

Takato, Rika and Kazu were the other of the two teams that fully passed, but they seemed to have a certain electricity passing between them, particularly Rika and Kazu, the two eying each other haughtily.

Tai's reaction was rather simple; he scowled vilely back at Thomas's jeering facial expression, _I'm against him first. That's great! I promise you, Mikoto, this overconfident pretty boy is going down; two blondies in one tournament!_

The Third ended, "Well, with that, pray my memory doesn't falter any more discrepancies that must be undertaken, you are free to leave and strategize. Be back to the Hidden Terra Village exactly one month, thirty one days from today. Any final inquiries?"

Joe lifted his hand, "I got one."

"Speak then."

"Okay, so it's like a full on, round by round tournament, right?" Joe asked, receiving a brief nod, "Well, since there is only one top spot, does that mean that only one of us can advance and become a T'rin?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. While that may seem the case, the truth of the matter is that your performances themselves will be judged; strength, technique usage, chikara portioning and tactical prowess are some of the many points you will be assessed on by me and our special guest, the Kukisha of the Hidden Sandstorm, amongst others. There is a chance to reach T'rin, even in a firt round defeat."

Tsuki smirked, "I get it… we could all become T'rin, depending on our performances, but also none of us could become T'rin if we all suck."

The old man hummed in acceptance of her answer, "Yes, that is the case. This tournament system acts as motivation, not to mention give the opportunity to display your skill and raise your score if you impress in multiple battles."

Joe cocked a brow, _Geez… what a hassle…_

"Well then, since nobody else is raising their hands, you are all dismissed until one month removed from today; good work on passing the first two exams also."

Tai stayed still for a second, crossing his arms and scanning the competition, _Well, after I floor Thomas, in the second round it'll be either the kid or blondie… but there's also Kazu and Takato; those two are dangerous as well, but the sand kid blew Marcus away…_

_-_ _"Tai," Matt chuckled, turning back with a face inbetween proud and pained, "you're one of the strong ones I want to fight!"_

Tai bit his bottom lip, _To get ready for all this, I need to find Kudamon and Satsuma-sensei…, _"Sora! Where's sensei gone to?"

Sora was distracted by her thoughts on Keenan and Matt, Kudamon having to ruffle around her neck and beckon in her ear to pull her back, "Wh-… I think Satsuma-sensei is busy with Matt! Kudamon-sensei is here though!"

Tai ran down toward the steps to retrieve the ferret Digimon, the former Exalted one leaning up toward Sora's ear again, "I know you're concerned with Matt, but you also have to be wary of Tai's progress, you are his teammate, after all."

oOo

Hours later, Tai had exited the Forest with the other K'rin, splitting off and arriving back to the main gate of the Hidden Terra Village, Kudamon snugly wrapped around his neck and shoulders, not at all perturbing his jog back.

At the giant gate emblazoned with the kanji of 'EMBER', the group of Digimon for the Terra Tamers who had passed the second exam awaited, Agumon (Tai's own, the other in the emergency room beside Marcus) ran up and met up with his partner and sensei.

The trio proceeded to the hospital located to the eastern district of Terra, standing before the help desk, Tai panting from his _long _journey, "H-hey… do you know… w-which room Matt Ishida's in?"

Scanning over a log book on the desk, the desk attendant shook her head, "I'm sorry, but we have a special order from DATS to stay away from his room unless permitted, and visitors are not allowed right now."

"WHAT THE HELL?" Tai exclaimed, his exhaustion fading and his broadened shoulders jolting Kudamon, the Digimon growling lowly.

Satsuma walked down to the help desk from the main corridor to the critical wing, "Tai, keep it down. Contrary to you, most people recover better with time, aid and SILENCE."

"Ah! Satsuma-sensei, I was looking for you!" Tai ran up with Agumon in tow, "Will you help me train?"

"I've got business, and can't care for you right now," Satsuma indicated, Tai's shoulder drooping, "besides which, you have a perfectly good sensei on your shoulders right now."

Tai grumbled, but Agumon spoke up this time, reading his wavelength as if by magic, "But Kudamon-sensei's a rookie level. We need something stronger to help us train in the month."

"Besides, I bet you'll focus on Matt _again_." Tai chided lowly, Satsuma ignoring the comment.

"Well, you have got a point, so you can have him at his Champion form, but that'll only last around a day without me around; after that, you'll have to find someone else." Satsuma performed the seals; Tiger, Horse, Bird, Serpent and Ram, ending with the seal of the Dragon, in which he clasped his hands together toward Kudamon, but extended his little fingers and thumbs, connecting the tips, completing the sequence needed with a clapped hand gesture, "_Energy Mergence Technique_!"

Kudamon glowed brilliantly gold for a second, startling the hospital visitors and staff, some unsettled by Tai's presence rather than Reppamon, the ghostly dog that formed from the ferret Digimon with his large blade tail and eye symbol mask.

"Taichi," the ghostly wolf addressed, his tone and approach even more honourable, "we have a full day to gauge your progress and set you on the correct training path. Will you and Agumon come with me now?"

"O-of course," the K'rin blathered, following his Digimon captain out with Agumon in tow.

oOo

"Alright," Reppamon addressed, the pair before him stood feet apart in readiness in one of the forest training area, the stumps a reminder of their fate on the first day of training, "first off, tell me what your best techniques are, Taichi. I already know Agumon's from his family tree."

"A-actually sensei-," Agumon tried to interject.

But he was ignored, Tai answering, "Well… I mostly use the _Shadow Body Splitting _and _Body Split _along with my new Tekina combo, the _Fire Barrage_. But my secret weapon is done with Greymon; _Nova Blast_."

Reppamon hollered ominously, impressed, "That is an impressive thing to have as a conjunction technique. However, you use it as a final attack, when you're chikara is low, making it a one shot deal, correct?"

Tai nodded tersely.

"I see now… your biggest problem that makes you the odd one out of the three human members of Squad Seven is imprecise chikara control. You always go for shadow clones without thought; it is your natural way of doing things, your set repertoire to gauge an opponent's strength. However, if I can set you on the right path, you should produce more clones with a lower drain on your energy, letting you fight longer."

Agumon clenched his claw excitedly, "Really? Tai can become that strong on his own?"

The ghost dog nodded, for what it was worth, "However, as a Digimon who does not have access to chikara, only his digital energy, I cannot teach him the lesson that would train him naturally in maintainance. You will need to find a competent human teacher for that." _But then again, Mamomon managed it somehow…_

_-_ _The exalted one doesn't know the full extent of a contract? Let me tell you, if a human seals himself to us Digimon, there are ways through practise and training to adopt abilities from the human's chikara, my ability from Gomen being the use of his water and wind based chikara to convert my own body to mist and reform at will. Too bad you won't live long enough to test that out with your partners in the Terra Village, disgraced lord Kudamon._

The dog Digimon sighed, _Indeed, I have been intrigued by the notion, as have the other O'rin Digimon… maybe if I knew how to invoke contracts on the Digimon's side like Mamomon did, I could help the boys more… I got close, but something was stopping me; I can't really explain what it was…_

"Sensei?" Tai spoke up, pulling him back, "Time's a-wasting."

Reppamon began to scuttle across to the stumps, laying down much to the boys chagrin, "I know… I know exactly how to give you boy's a boost! It's only natural since you've done it once, but how about I push you until Agumon evolves to his Ultimate form? Although, with your age category, it would take extraordinary willpower…"

"SENSEI!" Agumon called again, this time not being ignored, "I hate to bring this up… but I think I might be able to reach Ultimate easier than you might think."

"Why might that be?"

Agumon lowered his gaze, Tai stood stiffly, "Well… for a while now… I've always felt this tug on my heart, but it felt… what's the word… _alluring_. Since then, I've been able to do something new besides my normal attacks. And my digital energy seems stronger somehow."

_I have a feeling something bad is about to come to light,_ Reppamon stood back on all fours now; he was piqued by this idea, "Please demonstrate."

Agumon reeled his head back, Tai taking a safety pace away as he blew out fire; dark purple flames, a strange energy imbued in the bursting fireball he fired safely into the air before stopping.

The ghost dog reeled; although his mask hid it, he was sweatdropping, _That energy… it's the same as the time he turned into LucidGreymon! But… how? Satsuma and I added a layer seal on him, so he wouldn't be affected by the small bursts Tai has. Maybe he's become a virus-vaccine hybrid with new abilities from both types… it'd explain the fire. _"Digimon attacks usually are cast by the name. Do you know the name of that fire?"

"No," he worriedly replied, Tai keeping his distance after feeling that energy. His sense of déjà vu was not lost on him, but he couldn't place it.

After a moment of thought, the ghostly creature pawed over to him and falsely assured, "It is nothing to feel ashamed about, People in battle often feel new depths of energy in adrenaline driven environments; it's probably a latent ability of the AncientGreymon tree… Agumon, you are unique! With just this ability, you have already found your training, as for Taichi, I want you to come at me with all you have, alone."

…

Tai flustered, leaping up into the air and pulling out three kunai from his pouch, Reppamon watching from the ground as he threw them, three tags attached to them.

_Explosive notes! A diversion? _Reppamon pondered, jumping aside from the small blast, Agumon sat against the bark of a tree watching. Responding in kind, Reppamon twisted in a circle, thrusting his tail toward Tai in the air, a jet blade of wind blasting forth, "_Vacuum Scythe!_"

Tai pulled his head back, shifting his body mass enough to avoid the blade of wind, landing back on the ground, his fingers crossed in the clone seal, "_Shadow Body Splitting!_"

Two additional clones burst forth, Reppamon humming with a slight echo, "That's the problem right there, Taichi. All of the chikara you funnelled just now would have produced three times the number of clones for Matt and Sora if they could do shadow clones. Because of your lacking chikara control, you are producing less than you put into it."

Tai in the centre growled, all three gripping kunai, "Again… it's always Matt, Matt, Matt… the number of times I've heard his name instead of mine in the last five days is unbelievable." All three tossed their blades aside, assuming the Tiger seal, "Let's speed this up so you can tell me what's wrong with my control; _Nova Blast!_"

"Really?" Agumon asked in surprise as the three breathed flames together.

_On his own? _Reppamon calmly thought, dodging the small fireball, around the size of Matt's fire ball, made in conjunction by the three, admiring the power as the two clones vanished, Tai panting heavily, _It was small, even with clones helping, but that thing is powerful, no question. _"You were right Taichi. I will show you the technique for balancing your chikara output now, and we'll have a battle later on; I've still got enough energy to stay like this for the day."

…

The three walked briskly, coming up to the escarpment of a waterfall, the river raging beside them. Although it was in truth small, and a tourist area, evidenced by the three bikini toting woman playing around below in the water, Tai delighting in this visual before Reppamon called him over.

"This place shall do," the ghost dog abruptly finalized.

Tai looked incredulously at the river next to him, "What can we do here that we couldn't do back there?"

"Taichi, you gained basic chikara control back in the Land of Squalls with the tree climbing technique, but this is like a second stage altogether. I will tell you about how you humans have developed a technique overtime that allows you to stand and walk atop a body of water."

"Say wha-?" Tai was rendered moot, speechless at this.

Reppamon breathed deep, the air intake needed for this, "The tree climbing taught you how to focus and expel a gradual amount of chikara into the soles of your feet for travel, however, that is a set amount that is maintained. Look at the shifting water currents; such steady release will be ineffective on such a surface, meaning a constantly altered amount must be focused to maintain balance."

Agumon spoke up, "So… if it's so hard, why are we starting beside a waterfall?"

"Motivation," the ghostly creature laughed, "you see, while it may look like a deathdrop, I know for a fact that he has been toughened enough in his training to withstand such a measly thirty six foot fall. However, if he were to fall down when those voluptuous young ladies are down there-,"

Tai blanched and felt cold, "I'll be accused of peeping and sentenced to death…"

"It was helped by the fact that you did ogle my dear student. If you don't want to be ravaged by their fists, I suggest you focus and retain silence until they are gone."

Tai blemished and nervously deviated, "S-so can you show me how to do it first?"

Reppamon sat down in a dog fashion, "I told you, I'm a totally Digital Being. I have no access to chikara, just digital energy, so I can only do my attacks and technique naturally; such a thing is beyond me. So anyway, Taichi, focus chikara to your feet as if you were climbing a tree again."

Agumon walked over and plopped beside Reppamon, Tai focusing deeply while the dino placed his mouth beside his sensei's ear, "What are you doing? I thought you just said that he wouldn't be able to do it like the tree climb."

Reppamon whispered lowly back, "Well, Taichi obviously has no grasp on the magnitude of punishment if he fools around; he is famous in a bad way for his… perverted actions. He has actually had to be barred from the hot springs unless accompanied to prevent peeping on the female customers. I want him to understand after he fails at first."

"Right, here I go!" Tai relayed, placing his foot onto the water surface, trying to calculate his weight and balance ratio before placing both feet onto the fast river, failing and falling into it; even though it was the bank side of the river, it was deep and swept him away.

Falling down the waterfall with a large splash at the nexus of the waterfall undercutting, he burst out, gasping for air and rubbing his head. Man, he felt sore.

"It's the perv!" One of the women cried out to her two friends, all of them covering their bikini's and 'goods', Tai trying to explain futilely, "Get him!" she screeched, all three lunging toward him, fists coiled and breasts bouncing, a fitting final sight, he thought.

Reppamon sighed aloud as loud smacks and blows sounded out above the crashing water below, Agumon blanching slightly, "Erm… sensei… will he be okay? Are you sure he'll escape that?"

"He'll be fine; he isn't exactly known for being easily hurt."

"Er… yeah… about that," the dino lowered his bald brows, "you see, it may sound strange, but Tai has always seemed… different somehow to Matt and Sora. You might laugh at me for it, but I think he actually has a greater power than the others."

Bis teacher did not laugh, but looked sternly back, _So he is beginning to notice it too… we'll have to tell him soon; after all, being the prison for Lucifermon affects him as well through the contract, such as his unseen LucidGreymon form that nearly went berserk last time and this purple fire of his, a personal trait of the Demon Digimon himself. The fact that he can use the flames after such a small burst before means he too can pose a serious threat should the seal slip any further._

A loud smack sounded, Tai flying up above the two and landing roughly beside them, having received a trio knockout punch as propulsion over the waterfall in comedic, slap-stick fashion.

"Tai, are you alright?" his partner called.

The boy jittered on the ground, "Boobs… boobs… bouncy but painful boobs…"

"He seems to be in a state of shock," his sensei called, "do you now see the threat of not truly focusing now? I will make you do this tomorrow and the next day if I have to until a human relieves me! I hear that some travellers from the Hidden Storm are here as well; tomorrow we'll try it with them, they have a famous and painful way of dealing with peeps. Seriously, the teenagers like Rika are monsters!" he joked, "Want to wait until she bathes to try?"

"N-no," Tai stood shakily up, rubbing his welting face and recalling Rika's electrically strengthened muscles, "thank you… I'll never doubt you again, sensei…"

…

_-Sensei!_

Reppamon stirred at the call, having fallen asleep around two hours into Tai's cycle of falling and getting beaten by every female group that visited the waterfall that day, the boy covered in light, womanly strengthened bruises all across his face. Lord knows how damaged he was at a female's favourite target; THE lower extremity.

His mask decorated with a wide eye along with his tail, he could see clearly that Tai was in the middle of the river, battling against the current with the mid-day golden light enveloping him, his ankles in the water, but the rest of him above it, balancing.

Reppamon seemed astonished, _Well, well… to actually manage it to this degree with just the tutelage of a Digimon who couldn't show him how it as done. Impressive! He's a very impressive student in all honesty. It is a true shame that many still see him as that creature himself._

"AHH!" Tai screamed, falling back in as his focus slipped a little, travelling down the waterfall for his umpteenth beating of the day, "NO, NO, NO! MY GONADS CAN'T HANDLE ANYMORE KICKS!"

Tai altered his course with a quick kick start, boosting his jump with his imperfect water jump, dodgily sailing through the air without control, but still going over the waterfall.

Hearing a loud rustling of brambles from a tree and a smack, Reppamon grew worried, explicitly telling Agumon to go and check on the boy with him, the dinosaur jumping onto his back, the large ghost wolf leaping high into the air and landing nearby Tai's landing point, gripping to the trees with his powerful claws before releasing, landing safely and allowing Agumon down.

Following the rustles, they found Tai, twitching atop an older man, who seemed to have been peeping on the spooked girls, as he had a looking glass beside his quivering hand.

Reppamon's blinked, _That man is-!_

"Hey!" the man jeered, bracing up shakily, Tai rolling off of him and next to his partner and teacher. The man had white hair, sheen like as it locked into a large ponytail behind him. He wore a large scroll supported by shoulder straps he wore atop his green short shirt kimono and matching pants; under which he wore mesh armour that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit, two large wooden sandels on his feet, different from a normal Tamer's. He also had red markings like tears painted down from his eyes to his chin, and he wore a large bandana, two small indentation horns protruding with the kanji for 'SAGE' in the centre, "Do you have no respect kid? When a man is watching beautiful, bouncy women, you mustn't disturb him, unless you want to meet a truly grizzly fate."

Tai felt a little insulted, shooting back, "Well at least I'm not some stupid old perv on the verge of breaking a hip while hiding here!"

"_What? Did someone say pervert? Where?"_

"_Let's get out of here; the voice sounded like Tai and a lecherous old guy!"_

"_Kyaa! It's a pervert team! Let's get out of here!" _

The man looked mortified as he watched the three women he was watching trot away, covering their fronts with their clothes as they went, "No! You fool! Do you realize what you've done? AND HOW DARE YOU CALL ME OLD! I'M ONLY FIFTY FOUR!"

"Still old in my book, grandpa!" Tai growled back, the two slamming their heads together, staring each other eye to eye with sparks erupting between them, "What are you doing here anyway besides pervitude?"

"That's not even a word, you insufferable child! Go back to your cot, I have another batch of beauties to find!"

"Oh, so they can find you, slap you and make you reduce to the sawdust you're made of?"

"WHAT'D YOU SAY, BRAT!" the two thoroughly ground their teeth in their head to head stare of determination.

"Tai, get back here and show some respect!" Reppamon rallied angrily, a rare thing for him.

Tai pulled back slowly at his sensei's behest, "Fine… who the heck are you, Old Prune?"

The man stared distractedly at Reppamon for a moment before assuming a strange pose, a kabuki like stance where he thrust a palm before him and behind him while hunched over, "I'm glad you ask, young man! I am the Amphibian Sage, renowned as such throughout the Digital World!"

"I'll bet," Tai derogatorily said.

Reppamon stepped forward, "Master Gennai, you really never do change, do you? As I recall, the last time I saw you, you were just as… eccentric as before."

Gennai stared at the ghost wolf again, seemingly solving it, bonking his fist into his palm like a gavel, "Oh, you're Kudamon, aren't you? It's been, what, around twenty years since I last saw you in the village?"

"That is explainable by the fact that you have not been here in the last twenty years."

"Yeah, well," he scratched the back of his head, "after the war, I wanted to stretch my legs, y'know? So I went on a world tour. I didn't intend to be longer than five years, but there are some real babes in the world, and many hot springs have lax rules and regulations since they don't usually have Tamers visiting. It was all so easy to sneak in and watch." He sighed longingly, Reppamon laughing a little bit.

"You really never do change. I still remember the night after the village made the sanction for me to stay here as a symbolic idol for young Digimon, when I spent the night drinking with you as a celebration; you do act shamelessly while inebriated."

"When I'm drunk, my talent as a peeping tom comes forth, yes. I'm sorry I dragged you along back then, I forgot that Digimon really have no use in peeping on human women…" he sullenly apologised.

"It's alright, I really haven't had as much fun as that in the two decades since you left, so it was a warm memory, especially the part where I watched you get caught," he jokingly shuddered at the recollection, "human women are scary when embarrassed…"

Tai and Agumon watched back and forth as they prattled on like old friends, which they probably were, after all, Digimon show no signs of ageing at all as an indicator, "Er… we're still here, sensei, Old Prune."

"I double dare you to call me that again," Gennai growled like three year old, his glare unruly, "dwarf."

"OLD – PRUNE~." Tai lengthened the pronunciation mockingly.

"Now, Taichi!" Reppamon belayed, "That is no way to address Master Gennai!" he turned to said master, "You remember that favour you owe me for helping you out in the hot spring you were on the verge of dying in that night? I want to use it… you see, this kid needs a human to help him master the water walking, but I can't do it as a matter of principle, seeing as it would need chikara."

Gennai disagreed, "How about I teach him the _Quick Strip Rush Technique _I developed on my world tour? That way, the women kill him before I have to- I mean, you can't be serious; this DWARVEN MORON, worth my time?"

Reppamon curtsied, "They were a particularly blood thirsty bunch at that time, weren't they?"

Grovellingly, Gennai bobbed his head down, "Fine, but only if he can manage to make me like him enough to bother, also, what about the Agumon?"

"He's coming with me for special training," Reppamon announced, leaning down and picking Agumon up onto his back, beginning to walk away without argument, "Have fun."

"Wait, I was kidding, don't leave me with this dwarf!" Gennai begged pitifully, a ghostly laugh emanating from Reppamon before he and Agumon lunged through the trees at high speed. Gennai was hysterical for a moment, turning to Tai, "Well… can you go and say I tried?"

"No."

"But you don't like me, and I don't like you."

"I'm young, might as well pass your knowledge on before you kick it."

"C'mon, not only are you an annoying brat, but you're a boy! I only help out women when it suits me!"

"Is that so… well…"

"No matter what you say, you can't fool me! I will never like you enough to teach you, even if I have to deceive Kudamon to do it! I'm a Sage, I can't be seen with a shrimpish dwarf like you!" Gennai blustered, waving away with his hands as if Tai was an airborne toxin, "Now get lost!"

"Only women, eh? Well take this!" Tai clapped his hands together in the Ram seal, "_Sexy Technique!_"

His body transformed in a billowing haze of smoke, revealing an entirely naked, gorgeous female form of a well-endowed stature, assuming a model like pose, large breasts jiggling as she did.

Gennai was beside himself for a moment, putting up a double thumbs, "I love you like a son, I always have little squirt, now, if you stay like that, I will teach you my greatest perversion technique free of charge," he swore like a humbled, lost puppy looking at her assets, groaning as Tai de-transformed, sceptical written across his face as the smoke cleared.

Gennai stepped forward, a serious look on his face, placing both hands on Tai's shoulders like struts as he leant down, "What was that technique; you must teach me it as well, this world is full of mirrors, after all."

Tai sweatdropped comedically, _Weak willed doesn't even begin to describe it… first Zaki-sensei and now this chump, _"It's my _Sexy Technique_, something I made for pranks and slipping into hot springs undetected. Anyway, you just swore that you'd train me, so let's start."

"One condition," Gennai folded his arms, "during breaks I want you to turn into that babe again and teach it to me! Such immense power of perversion in such a young boy… truly ingenious!"

"No way!" Tai barked back at him, "You see, you are just an old perv!"

"No I'm not, I'm in a whole other league!" he declared, "I AM GENNAI, AMPHIBIAN SAGE AND THE WORLD'S FOREMOST SUPER PERVERT!"

Tai sighed vehemently, _This guy's insane… thanks a lot, Kudamon-sensei…_

"Very well," the old man coughed, "walk onto the _formerly_ populated," he scowled down at his new student, "babe pool and show me how far you've gotten."

Tai nodded, stumbling through the brambles, agitated when Gennai easily found a quicker path around. Walking across to the water edge, Tai focused his chikara like before, stepping on the water's surface and struggling to make it a quarter of the way there before he fell in, his energy giving out like a short circuit.

Something about this stuck with Gennai, the elderly man at the bank of the waterfall induced pool and ravine grimacing when Tai fell in suddenly.

Tai furiously paddled his way back to the water bank, growling lowly and throwing his soaked shirt aside, as he felt it weighed him down.

"Hey," Gennai called out, Tai looking up at him, "I want you to focus your chikara as well as you can right here; I think I know your flaw."

Tai assumed Tiger and closed his eyes, contorting his face in concentration, the black markings of his seal and the five protruding elements of the _Hexagonal Seal_ becoming visible on his stomach.

Bending down, Gennai scanned the seals, articulating the inadequacies of the markings, _So this is the Demon's sealing method… a dual dragon seal sealed itself for strength by a double tiger seal… only one technique could do this at once; the Fourth Senksha's sealing technique. However, it seems someone has tampered with it and placed a Hexagonal Seal atop it. The five seals on top of four spells disaster and has upset the sealing flow, stopping Lucifermon's digital energy safely moulding with the kid's; no wonder he's so appalling right now. Maybe it's time they met…_

xxx

_Tai's Preview Theatre!_

_What does this old man think he's doing, telling me to do all this stuff I wanted to do?_

_Hold on… what is this thing? Where am I?_

_**Next Episode: **__Meeting! The__Malevolant Creature!_

xxx

**A/N: **Big advancement, next time on Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles!

Please review!


	23. Episode Twenty Three

**A/N: **Finally, it has come. The meeting that will change the scope of story flow; the host and the imprisoned finally meet, face to face!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty Three: Meeting! The Malevolent Creature!**_

…

_Scaling System_

_D Rank Missions: Missions of little difficulty that help within the village with manual labour._

_C Rank Missions: Missions were common rabble such as robbers or highwaymen may play party as enemy in a mission._

_B Rank Missions: A difficult mission with a definite possibility of battling foreign Tamers or powerful rogues._

_A Rank Missions: Missions that will affect the way lives are led in a country by assassination, assault and hostile takeover._

_S Rank Missions: Incredibly rare to find. Includes the capture or killing of specially targeted S RANK Criminals that possess great power or sway to the natural order of the land. Can also be a joint venture, as these missions can affect multiple countries in a variety of ways. _

…

_The creature from before the beginning until after the end; I think it's time this boy learned to manage and tap into Lucifermon's energy reserves, _Gennai pondered, Tai still focusing chikara before him, the seal on his stomach visible, "Kid, come over here!" _No doubt Bashiori's purposefully crude handiwork…_

Tai was confused, but did so, standing right before him now, _This Old Prune sure does make a lot of demands… _

Gennai cheekily smiled, pulling his right hand behind his back, small pyre like flames erupting at his fingertips with the kanji 'FIVE', 'SANCTION', 'BELAY', 'DISABLE' and 'REMOVE' appearing in the flames, "Hey, listen, I'm gonna help you get better control of your chikara; lift your hands above your head."

"Why exactly?" Tai asked, still following commands and lifting them lazily up.

Retracting his right hand from behind him, Gennai pounced, slamming the tips on each of the five markings atop Lucifermon's seal placed by Bashiori, steam driving out of them as Tai gasped, "_Hexagonal Seal Liberation!_"

Tai jarred at the burning eruption in his stomach, but by the time he had lent over on his knees, gripping at the hit area, the burning was gone, as were the five seals that limited him, the true seal itself receding from view.

"W-what was that for?" Tai barked meekly, grasping his stomach and stomping back to his feet.

Gennai suggested, "I hit a pressure point on your naval; it's proven to release chikara flow better. Anyway, go onto the water surface again, alright squirt?"

Tai sceptically did it with a growl, focusing chikara to the points of contact in his feet and strolling across the water to the centre, on the top of the water's shifting surface with it seeming sudden and natural, "What did you do? Actually, I don't care, but this seems really easy now!"

"Kid, get back over here! I want to teach you something!" Gennai called, Tai hopping over to him across the water, not even struggling to balance anymore. Standing in front of him, Gennai went on, "First, do you realize that you have a special type of chikara? Do you recall when it ever appeared?"

Tai put his index finger to his mouth in thought and recollection, "Well, there were these times where I felt like my power and chikara increased a lot, but… my memory seems fuzzy, I can't really remember much else… But if I had to describe it, I'd say that my normal chikara felt blue, but back then it felt red, if you know what I mean."

_The red chikara is formed when some of Lucifermon's powerful digital energy bypasses the seal and moulds with his chikara, forming an entirely new type of energy. But some of the malevolence must have bled out also, if he can't recall, _"I see…"

"So, what were you gonna teach me?"

"Actually, I've got appointments to keep, like checking in with the old man… so meet me here tomorrow." Gennai ordered, wandering off and leaving Tai bewildered as if he'd been short-changed.

"PERVY OLD PRUNE! IT'S JUST PAST THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!"

oOo

Nightfall befell the Sandstorm Village, the full moon bleed of light illuminating the large buildings that looked to be made of simple dirt as protection against the sand storms (hence the name), several wires conjoining the roofs and windows for easy movement of Tamers through the village, contained in a large bowl like wall around it like a blockade.

Keenan sat atop the intricate fish design that was of paramount detail, his dark presence bombarded by the moon light, his shadow great and vast.

His cold eyes tightened at the trotting sounds that came across the large shrine roof, "What do you want, Sound Tamer."

Shindo stood beneath him, his one revealed eye flustered with astonishment, "I can't believe it… the dead of night and still awake. I guess you really have insomnia like I thought. Regardless, since I can't kill you as you sleep, I want to fight with you here. Once you're out of the picture kid, Matt Ishida will be mine to kill as well. I have seen your sand, but sound is a great deal faster and can penetrate the armour you hold onto yourself."

Keenan remained calm and silent on his perched seat high above Shindo, his brow angrily twitching like a switch at the sight of the harmonica device, "I should have you know… that _he _thirsts for your blood, PERSONALLY."

There was a loud rumble above Shindo, the shadow that loomed from Keenan exponentially increasing in size and mass, the fish architecture crumbling beneath him, raising a huge gust of dust and smoke.

Shindo feared for his life before the unholy creature and roar that came, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?"

His cracked voice was rendered silent forever as a large dust trail followed a shadowed claw across the roof, Shindo getting caught in it, his blood splattering and glistening in the shade of the moon light.

oOo

In the distance, on another large building, masked with a layer of sod, were two figures stood in the shadows of the terrace balcony, watching the cloud of dust rise from the roof Keenan was on, the boy himself appearing the nexus of the cloud, panting heavily and looking inwardly and rather uncharacteristically spooked.

One of the figures stepped forth into the bright full moon light beating down on the village, revealing himself as the Sandstorm O'rin, Torune, "Fool… Keenan is becoming more and more unsettled. He hasn't slept for more than three months."

The other remained in the dark, his tone matching, "So that was his true identity… I assume that wasn't the full conversion?"

"No, if he had entered the full conversion, the village would be at risk; he's at least conscious enough of that." Torune looked back at the shadowy figure, an unflattering look on his face, "Also, was that really okay? I mean, he was from the Hidden Note, after all."

"Truly, it was of no consequence. He was only important for the Forest to gauge Matt Ishida's strength, but after that, he became utterly disposable." Kurata stepped forth from the shadows, still wearing the body armour he had stolen from the deceased DATS agent, but had disposed of the mask, "By the way, there is no longer any need to gauge the boy; we have accumulated the correct level of data now, and not soon enough."

In the dark recesses of the shadows, hiding behind a pillar that trumped the pair's vision was the proctor, currently an infiltrating O'rin Tamer, Kuzan Yagami, the man sweating and resisting his coughs, _Why is he here? I remember him quitting the T'rin Exam earlier… how is it he made the journey to the Land of Air so quickly, and for what reason?_

Torune did not take kindly to the childish shrug in the precarious situation, "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

Kurata tapped the bridging section of his glasses, giving a cheesy flash smile, "I was discovered by one of the Terra O'rin a few hours ago, and I busted my rump to escape the heat and finalize everything quickly. I failed in abducting the target, and they found out that I am a spy, although they don't know it is for the Sound yet."

Torune snarled insidiously, but stood woodenly in place, "So, you threaten the entire operation due to your callousness and come here to meet me… do you realize the implications if we're caught right now… and to think you're rumoured as Bashiori's right hand man…"

Kurata upheld his smile, but his eyes radiated shaded thoughts, "Actually, you have no need to doubt me. I purposefully made a flashy display on my assignment to attract attention. With my cover taken away, I can move better without having to hold back, making the overall assignment easier."

Torune sternly held his stance on the matter, "If it appears that you are on the verge of failing, the Sandstorm shall vanish and leave you to punishment. To retain a shadowy guise in the event of failure, this is Lord Kukisha's will."

Kurata went into his pouch, peeling out a rather thick scroll and passing it onto Torune, "This is our plans, encoded in the agreed way to prevent information loss. Also, do you think it might be time to tell Keenan and his mates of their pivotal role in this?"

The Sandstorm O'rin grasped and looked the scroll's binding over quickly, looking across to Keenan again in the distance, "I suppose so…"

"And by the way," Kurata hissed with a cynical smirk, "you have complain about me all through this meeting, yet the Sandstorm's security is so lax, it has let a pesky rodent in."

Torune snorted, "Don't worry, I'll kill him as a sign of good faith; can't have him relaying our plans to the enemy Sha now, can we?"

Kuzan gulped, performing the high speed movement to get out of sight, Torune following him with the same movement at the sound of the tap, both racing across rooftops.

…

"My, my…" Torune hummed evilly as he finally outran Kuzan, the pair facing each other down atop a small sign implanted on a five story hotel establishment, "The proctor, coming alone to spy on the strange movements of the Sandstorm… you do realize you will have to die here."

"Looks like I have to fight back," Kuzan snarled, releasing the sickly cough he had held back, forming a one handed Tiger seal, "_Wind Form, Divine Intervention!_" he growled, his arms seemingly breaking off into an additional six arms, the man charging at Torune.

Torune didn't move, his body bombarded by a multitude of punches atop the sign before grabbing two arms precisely, the others vanishing, Kuzan looking with fear into the other O'rin's eyes, his bloodied features formulating a powerful smile.

"_Wind Form, Divine Intervention, _a powerful wind technique only taught to the best of the Land of Air and rarely seen elsewhere. To think a Tamer was in the Hidden Terra, mastering it to such a degree with the youthful age… truly impressive," he snickered, "however, only distorting the air to make it look like you grow more arms is nothing compared to this, the _Bleeding Force _wind blast."

A loud bang echoed from the top of the sign, blood flitting in the air stream that blasted through Kuzan's body, the O'rin falling to his death on the rooftop below the sign.

oOo

The four visitors to the waterfall today were just as voluptuous as the other girls, but they wore scandalously enticing, open swimwear to bolster their assets, improved further by the beachball they bounced back and forth, Gennai's nose on the verge of a major bleed behind the bushes nearby as he watched.

Tai was also there, growling lowly beside the small stream that ceceded from the waterfall's body that the girls played in, "Hey, Old Prune! I'm over here!"

Gennai swatted the air, silencing him while focusing his eyes on the swimsuits and the movement in them, "Y-yeah… so, I'm gonna teach you a cool new technique today."

"Well look this way-!" Tai began to raise his voice, but Gennai, in a flash, moved over and placed his hand over his mouth to prevent him spooking the girls again.

Tai slapped it away, Gennai focusing distractedly on him, "Listen, do you recall our conversation yesterday? About the blue and red feels of chikara you have?" Tai nodded, "Well, since you felt incredibly powerful, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind accessing it; the technique I want to teach requires a strong caster."

Tai clasped his hands in a Tiger seal, focusing deeply until his face turned beetroot and veins erupted along his head in effort and strain, "It isn't working… all I can feel is my natural chikara…"

"So your admitting you're a talentless hack; I mean, failing to tap into your own energy? How'd you become a Tamer?" he berated, his tongue laced with boredom and disappointment.

"Oh, yeah? Well get down from your high horse and try summoning a different chikara, big guy! It isn't easy, also, why the heck can't I learn this technique if you won't bother in telling me the difference between the two?"

Gennai sullenly sighed, looking through Tai like a scanner, _So, it's as I thought; he truly hasn't realized that the special energy he feels is a mixture of his chikara and Lucifermon's integrated digital energy. An unknown, powerful mixture of power, yet he can't summon it on his own. From the vague tale he told me, it happened when he believed his teammate dead, so that would mean the trigger is heightened danger and emotional activation._

"Well?" Tai asked snobbishly, "Why do I need this second chikara anyway? How do you even know I have it?"

Gennai pointed at his chest, "I am a Sage, so I am privy to such things. Kid, this technique is a huge drain on chikara, so much so that if used at the wrong moment by the wrong Tamer, it can kill from exhaustion. You are a rare exception; you have an unfathomable energy reserve, it'd be a waste to not use it. When you do that and use it, a whole world of advanced, O'rin level techniques will become available to you."

"Like what, exactly?"

"Like the one I'm about to teach you," he smirked confidently, "the _Transportation Technique_, where you summon forth a contract sealed partner Digimon."

Tai sighed, "Are you out of your mind? I already have a contract with Agumon."

"One sealed in your blood and his digital code, yes. This technique is another contract sealed with the blood of both, whereas the basic partner summon is just blood from the human and some of the Digimon's essence, making it a permanent fixture. In short, with a different set of hand seals and another blood sealed contract to a willing Digimon, you can call them to aid in battle alongside you and your chosen partner, like mercenaries on your side of a battle, in summary." Gennai snickered at Tai's alight face, "It is a very advanced technique few have the talent for; a Spatial Manipulation form of Genina, like the use of scroll storage and summoning, only more difficult to pull off."

The boy was delighted, pulling his fists to his chest as if he were about to drum, "That sounds so cool! When can we start learning it?"

Gennai lifted his fist up, pointing to the small stream beside them, "Hold your horses. That is just about deep enough… before we do anything, I want you to completely exhaust yourself first doing the water walking technique."

Tai now looked angry enough to actually drum his chest, "Are you nuts, Old Prune? I could die if I do that!"

"Don't worry, I'm here squirt, so nothing bad'll happen," Gennai defended, walkin back across to his peeping spot, "now show me what you can do."

"LOOK THIS WAY THEN, YOU OLD LETCH!"

…

Around two hours into the exercise, Tai's feet had begun sinking bit by bit into the water, the concentration on his face clear along with aggravation.

Gennai was still peering through the brambles of the bush as the girls began playing splashing games, making the visual brighter somehow, as if it was a blessed sight only for men. The drool at his mouth and the heavy blush on his only slightly wrinkled face gave credence to this.

Tai's body suddenly went down to the waist, his vision blurring, "W-what's happening…?" he mumbled as his eyes shut and he went under water.

Gennai looked back like a true sage, _As I thought, he's had the moulding throughout his life to help keep the monster weak, but on his own, he doesn't have the natural control developed early by normal kids, making him screw up and burn out faster…_

…

Tai's eyes felt like dumbbells, the boy struggling to open them. When he finally managed, he teetered up to a seating position on the banks of the stream, Gennai leant beside him.

Gennai grinned, "Well, all but your vital energy has been used, so now I'll teach you the technique for practising."

"Yes!" Tai drowsily, but happily, cheered.

"First of all, you bite your thumb tip until it bleeds, a different part than summoning a partner," Gennai indicated by biting his thumb tip, blood seeping from the small puncture, "and then perform the following seals; Bird, Dragon, Dog, Ram, Monkey and Ram again to initiate the process," he performed the seals obligatorily, "and then place your palm flat down."

Gennai slapped the ground with his spaced out fingers, smoke bursting forth from a black digital code marking shaped like a diamond around the hand that was briefly seen, "_Transportation Technique!_" As the smoke cleared, Tai gazed up in amazement at Gennai, assuming his standoffish kabuki pose atop a large frog Digimon who did the same as a copy, only many times larger, red skinned with a large tuba wrapping around his neck from his vocal cord area.

"What is that?" Tai queried, bedazzled.

Gennai huskily guffawed atop the Digimon's head, "This, my young friend, is a contract partner of mine called ShogunGeckomon. He's an Ultimate level war machine… and a possibility in summoning with the contract of amphibians I'm wearing on my back."

Tai sparked with realization, _Wait… that Reed person in the Forest, did she have blood partners too? She summoned a lot of Digimon to fight for her! That's it! This technique would make me just as good as her!_

Leaping down and landing without injury, Gennai took off the straps, unlatched the holster for the large scroll and rolled it out before Tai, the kanji for 'SACRED AMPIHIBIOUS PARTNERSHIP' at the top, several separate columns stained with blood writing and bloodied prints below it.

The old man went on, Tai panting, "This is a very ancient contract protected by a chosen Sage of every generation by the amphibious Digimon. You must write your name in blood with any language you prefer, even shortened kanji, and press your right hand down- that is the hand you always use for summoning."

Tai was busy, having bit his right thumb deeply, using the seeping matter and etching his name roughly in short kanji form to minimize blood loss, before tapping his blooded right thumb onto each of his tips and pressing his right hand on the contract beneath his name, finalizing it with his prints.

"Alright, now perform the seals and place your right hand down, and an amphibious creature will be called forth, each of a different level depending on the level of chikara you put into it." Gennai explained, Tai performing the seals in a rather fast fashion.

"_Transportation Technique!_" Tai beckoned, placing his right palm down, the blood still on his tips, smoke bursting forth, ShogunGeckomon and Gennai leaning forward to look. The creature was certainly small; it was a purple tadpole Digimon Tai had seen in the Land of Squalls, an Otamamon.

Gennai's brows furrowed, his summoned ally dismissed with a burst of smoke, _A rookie level amphibian… this kid had absolutely no talent whatsoever… I consider this being worth two favours that ferret owes me later!_

oOo

Elsewhere, dangling on a steep cliff face with one arm latched to the back belt loop of his pants, Satsuma panted, his training exercise not going all that well, _Geez… how out of shape am I? Nearly five minutes compared to the two I used to do on the fly! Spencer would grill me for being so slow… I need to be ready in time!_

oOo

_The room was filled to capacity with all of the O'rin in the village sat on the floor before the Third Senksha and two elder council members, a stern looking woman of advanced years called Ai, and a robust but humbled man in robes called Koshiro._

_In the front of the mass gathering, Satsuma gaped and repeated the information he had just been given, "Kuzan's dead?"_

_The Third nodded with a hint of bitter sadness, "Yes, he was located in the Sandstorm Village, and was most likely struck down during the surveillance I had him conduct by the O'rin there. We were allowed to keep the matter quiet and retrieve him for burial."_

_Daisy straightened up, "Was it Bashiori's doing?"_

"_I doubt it," Squad Seven's captain contradicted, "more than likely, he was tailing that spy I told you about, Akihiro Kurata. The fact he was stricken down means he stumbled onto some business he shouldn't have. It's a possibility that he will make a play soon, since they have only just bothered to kill Kuzan."_

_Daisy snarled unpleasantly back at him, "In that event, we should shut down this year's Exam and heighten security!"_

"_No, Daisy. That he willingly made a play in the Forest to garner attention, it shows that he does indeed want the Exam to go on; traps would best be left there, but there is another reason." The Third intercepted stoically._

_Council member Koshiro stirred in his seat, "What do you mean, Hyoko?"_

_The Third, identified as Hyoko Shinjin, went on, "Bashiori has the legendary strength of the Sansai I tutored, and has the ability to raze a small country alone. Therefore, many countries have set their sights on him since turning renegade, mostly for his grudge against this village, which any neighbour might want to use…"_

_Spencer contorted his features, "A traitorous ally has sold their allegiance to him?"_

_His rival concurred, "Well, the current façade of total peace is merely verbal. It's been trounced before and has led to the wars…"_

_Hyoko went on further, "Well, no need to worry without substantial evidence to the contrary. I trust all of you to repel any attack on our home. If the worst should come, we will be ready, we will fight, and we will protect our family."_

oOo

Satsuma dangled precariously now, the cliff face edging down on him now, his feet having no foothold in the smoothened area, forcing him to take the quick route to avoid falling to his death, "_The first State, State of Euphoria, Release!_"

Using the strength of his fully enabled muscles, Satsuma found it all too easy to swing back, a mere tap with his foot enough to get a good leap, using his free hand to grasp at the stone at the edge of the escarpment, pulling himself up to his chest before noticing the legs stood before him.

"So, you finally woke up."

oOo

It had been fifteen entire days of rinse, wash and repeat for Tai, draining his chikara and then performing the summoning, only to have Otamamon drive a wedge between him and Gennai, the old man belittling him every time.

This time, he was on the verge of passing out, but went for it anyway, his thumb still bit open slightly, the seals and blood giving way to the rudimentary smoke, this time a Geckomon appearing. It was a Champion level, but an unimpressive one, as it was a small, wimpy green version of ShogunGeckomon.

Gennai was still unimpressed, _Getting better, but he can't summon one of the many USEFUL amphibians with all the time I have wasted on him?_

oOo

The Terra Hospital was abuzz, especially that morning, with as minor outbreak of hysteria that had made Mimi and Sora slack back into the complimentary visitors seats next to each other, each with a white rose in hand.

"Where did Matt get off to? He was in a coma yesterday." Mimi sighed, twisting the stalk of the flower in her dainty fingers, "The nurses all said he up and vanished, but he was checked out by someone; they though he did it to stop us following up on him. But where could he have gone?"

Sora pulled her knees to her chest and made a small ball atop the chair, _That's my question… he couldn't have…_

_-I just gave him a parting gift, my dear. That Viral Brand of Friendship will activate in time, and he'll seek me out willingly to gain my power._

A woman's scream behind them in the courtyard snatched their feigning attention, "MARCUS! YOU NEED STRICT BED REST, COME BACK TO YOUR ROOM BEFORE YOU EXACERBATE YOUR INJURIES!"

"Please, keep silent!" Marcus hissed with a huff, performing push ups with his one good arm, the other in a sling and cast. He favoured his right side awkwardly throughout, his left leg still blatantly purple shaded with bruises, _I can't be finished! I still have fights to fight! Thomas, Matt, Tai… that sand kid… I need to even the scoreboard against him, but a hospital bed won't help with that!_

"Marcus!" Sora and Mimi called, but he did not reply. They looked to the nurse, "Why is he doing this?"

She seemed flustered and nervous, "His mother and sister left a few minutes ago, then he vanished and I just found him like this! I gave him a sedative, but he isn't stopping!"

_-Hard work pays off, but only for those with the will to shape their destinies, Marcus! You have that will, and no matter what you may think, it will pay off!_

"Marcus…" Sora breathed weakly.

oOo

**ONE HOUR PRIOR**

_The Tachikawa Flower store was the main competitor for Sora's mother and her very small scale flower store in comparison. Sora had two reasons for popping in; it was much closer to the hospital, and she had a problem with her mother over her overprotective nature; trying to stop her becoming a Tamer in preference to a life as a florist? Yeah right!_

"_Well, well," was Mimi's snide interruption of her investigative look at the flowers, the pink haired girl stood behind the wooden counter, "how rare for you to come in her… a few years ago you couldn't pick for squat, but now look at you."_

"_The past is the past," Sora grumbled, disappointed that it was Mimi at the counter, going back to the lily section at the other end of the store, "bygones be bygones…"_

"_You are desperate for me not to notice you're on the way to the hospital for Matt, aren't you?" Sora jolted, telling Mimi and her crescent smile that she was on the mark, "Well now, can't allow the enemy to go alone… I'll get my mom to take her shift early."_

"_Cunning little strawberry sundae," the auburn head girl growled lowly, grabbing a daffodil in contrast to Mimi's 'rose of love', "how basic are you? A daffodil represents love lasting against the bitter colds of winter, the roughest of times, and yet still remaining strong."_

"_I've taught you well," Mimi snickered, "or is it the fact that the pumpkins growing beside plant life helping, Jack O-Lantern?"_

_Chiding, Sora picked another daffodil, "And one for Marcus as thanks for the Forest."_

_Mimi's face fell like a cast iron weight, "Oh… you hadn't heard?" she questioned, unsure because of Sora's jubilant personality._

"_What?"_

"_Because of the serious crushing and bone breaks, they say he'll never be a Tamer again; they're considering re-assigning his partner already."_

oOo

The pair watched as the nurse continued to fall on death ears, a familiar dinosaur Digimon appearing, "Boss! Calm down, boss!"

"Agumon… buddy," he heaved, on his near two hundredth push up, evidenced by the heavy perspiration dripping below him, "I can't stop… I need to stay strong; get better… I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Fighter, and I get put away by a kid four years younger than me? No! Not to mention… they want to take you from me!"

_Marcus…, _Sora thought, flinching at the swooning sound in his gargle as he flopped down, passed out. She and Mimi launched down and over to him in the courtyard, the nurse beside herself.

"I think the sedative has worked!" she suggested, turning for a run back into the place of healing, "Please watch him carefully for me while I get help!"

Looking down at him for a moment, Sora peered up to Agumon, the dino's eyes glazed with a strange sense of fault, "Hey, Agumon… does he always hurt himself like this?"

"W-well… people like the boss are always wanting to grow strong for the sake of another, like the boss and Kristy; apparently she used to get bullied when he was weak," he answered, "he probably thinks now that he's almost crippled… it'll happen to her again."

"Mimi," she meekly addressed, a water globule forming at the bottom of her eye, "why are all boys such idiots and think in black and white…?"

"I'm a girl too… why ask me…?"

…

Now back in his bed, Marcus looked at the ceiling tiles scornfully, looking across to a faint snoring to find Agumon asleep, having worked his way through Spencer's get well basket of fruit.

Looking toward the window, in the corner of his eye, he spotted a daffodil in the water jug on the bed side stand, "Who got me a flower…?"

oOo

**THIRD WEEK OF TRAINING**

"Yes!" Tai happily praised himself as another Geckomon was summoned, and quickly dismissed, much to the irking of Gennai.

"You no talent fool! How dare you waste my time only summoning pathetic specimens like that!"

"Shut up old man!" the boy wearily spat, his eyes closing and his body flopping into the dirt beneath him.

Gennai sighed, leaving his peeping post regrettably and sauntering close to Tai, _Twenty one whole days of the Transportation Technique would have chewed weaker, full grown men out already, but the guts of this kid. Using the special energy only he has is truly a difficult task. Most likely, since he has a small body, it is restrained as much as possible to avert bodily harm… but if heightened emotion is the key to release… I'll force him to recognize his special energy. Forgive me, Fourth._

oOo

A large photo of all of the four Senksha's hung in portrait glory in the Senksha residence main hall, Hyoko looking up in reverence to the other three previous Senksha, but particularly at the Fourth's mugshot.

In the large photo, the Fourth was a very young man, in his early twenties at the time of appointment, only a few years before the attack. His face was smooth and well kept, as was his short, caramel coloured hair and hazel eyes, his garb a gallant white robe and a special necklace passed down from Senksha to Senksha.

Hyoko was disrupted by Daisy's arrival in the room, sliding the paper door closed tersely, "Lord Senksha… I'm truly sorry that I was unable to kill him and avert this looming threat…"

"Daisy, I'm glad you came back from the Forest alive; you and Bashiori were only tenuously linked when you were an impressionable youngling." He turned away from her shamefully, "In truth, a Tamer in the Terra Village does not exist now that can stop him in battle; even I've succumbed to the corrosive effects of time…"

"If only the Fourth were here now-,"

"Don't say it. Dawdling on the past successes in this village will serve no purpose in the future. He died a hero once, and has earned his rest over the last eleven years." He reached across for his Senksha hat, "I'm leaving for some air… Daisy- don't blame yourself."

oOo

Atop the Senksha residence on the well-kept roof, a class of first year academy students sat in discord, rambling and wittering to one another before Zaki stepped forward, the great face carvings looming behind him.

"Alright class, today we are having our class outside," he began, rendering the rambunctious group silent, "as you can see behind me, the pride of the Hidden Terra, the great Senksha faces stand strong on the cliff face, from the left is the First, the Second, the current Third and the Fourth."

"Sensei!" A small girl with heavy blonde bangs and pink buns in her hair called from the group, "Who's the Fifth? Have they chosen them yet?

"Alas, no. The Lord Senksha are decided upon the retirement or death of the previous one, and only the greatest Tamer in the village is elected for selection," Zaki chortled inwardly, pointing to himself with a faux face of expectation, "it could be your great Sensei!" he joked.

The Third laughed at the top of the scaled steps the wrapped like a serpent around the building, "Working in a joke every once in a while to lighten tension in class, Zaki? They seem like a good batch."

"L-Lord Senksha!" Zaki said in surprise.

"-Whoa, that's the real Third?-"

"-He sure doesn't look like the strongest!-"

The Third walked past the whispers, an eternal smile plastered on his wrinkled face, "I was just coming to observe the faces myself, and I find such a good batch of students."

"Perfect timing," Zaki said, gesturing beside him, "would you mind a moment of your time being used? I was just teaching about the Senksha when you arrived." The Third nodded, standing beside him with his smile, "This man is the hallowed owner of the third face on that cliff; the Third was said to be of a different calibre of Tamer entirely, and was fiercely feared by his enemies. His knowledge and power were so great; he was nicknamed 'Tamer God' for his genius exploits."

"The past tense…" Hyoko jokingly growled, the O'rin reeling in conjunction with the jubilant attitude.

"Sensei, isn't that overhyping? He looks like any old guy!"

"Yeah, you said it!"

"H-hey! To receive the title of Senksha, you have to ABSOLUTELY be the strongest in this land!" Zaki defended with a small scowl.

"It is fine, Zaki. They are so young, ambitious… just like all of the Senksha before me, including myself, they all started to dream at this age. Dreams are a necessary step on the path of life. Although a bumpy road, if you cling to your dream and work for it, it shall come to fruition; you only live once, so don't waste your lives away on matters that harm others or yourself, but bring happiness. Also…"

They looked at him like a sage, dumbfounded.

"Remember to always carry bonds on your path of life, cherish them."

"Cherish them?" One young girl repeated, a bedazzled twinkle in her large, glimmering eyes.

"Yes, protect those bonds with the people you love, no matter what. The people you love, cherish and respect with all of your heart. Do you have a person like this?"

She turned a shade peach at her cheeks, but smiled, "Y-yeah… I have a pet Salamon, and I love my mom and dad… and my big sister even though she treats me like a pest sometimes."

"For me it's my friends!"

"My big bro!"

"My mom!"

Hyoko laughed with a warm, hearty feel as if they were playing a whimsical tune.

"Then, do you have someone like that too?" another girl popped up.

"Well of course. I have my two sons, my wife and a grandchild being raised happily. But more than that, I protect your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, cousins and you. All of you are precious to me." _Just like they all were for the Fourth when he sacrificed it all to defend them._

oOo

Tai's body felt battered from all of the water that had bombarded him in the last three weeks, not helped by the fact that Gennai dumped him to the earth roughly, crouching beside him with a serious face that deterred all argument as Tai got to a knee.

"Listen, kid. The training is over as of today. I have taught you the technique, but you still need the chikara reserves to summon actual warrior amphibians to your side. So, to supplement this, you will need to figure it out on your own as to how it will work."

Gennai felt nothing from the estranged look on Tai's face, placing his index finger onto the boy's headband and pushing back with the force of a jet engine, Tai crashing through the bushes behind him and into a very deep gorge, the boy's screams of surprise echoing as he went down, the sage walking over to the edge and watching him as he fell.

Gennai had a dark look on his face; one of contemplation, _Now we will see if the Fourth decided to bless you or curse you with the power. This time, Tai, you must meet HIM yourself._

As he fell, Tai noticed some stalactites protruding from the wall, each as big as he was, and he decided to give it a shot, focusing chikara to his hands and feet, timing it just right and grasping onto one, but he slipped off regardless and continued to descend at break neck, if not a lot more, speed.

Gennai chuckled, _No good, kid. Those rock formations were carved by erosion, and a sopping wet. At that speed, even with a chikara grip, you can't grip on. You have no alternative but to access the moulded energy yourself, unlock it from your end, don't allow Lucifermon access to your mind!_

Tai continued to fall, noticing vividly he had passed half way down, the rocks at the bottom becoming much clearer as he fell, _I-I'm gonna die like this!_

**LUB-DUP**

oOo

"Good work, Torune." The Kukisha praised behind a veiled seat, Torune bowed before him. He was an average size man with a large white robe and a veil concealing his face beneath the hat, emblazoned with the kanji for air.

"The plan is advancing swimmingly; Keenan, Daiyo and Tsuki have all advanced as predicted." Torune replied honourably, reaching into his pouch and extracting the scroll Kurata had given him, placing it before the veil and allowing the gowned and veiled lord to grasp it, "Those are the battle formations of the Note Village."

"Then the time is upon us…"

Torune looked sceptical, bowing again, "But, Lord Kukisha… wouldn't it be more prudent to place battalions at select positions to move in at the signal? I and the squad are merely four Tamers."

"The Terra Village is not some boorish child; it is smart, and it will be ready, hence the increased DATS detail at the border around the Land of Embers. This way, covert operations can be conducted. Why else would I have sent my estranged step son on this mission? Because it is of vital importance." He dictated, not wanting a word of rebellion, "Now leave and prepare for your journey back to the Terra Village."

…

Torune leapt from building to building, still recalling his meeting earlier that morning with the Sandstorm trio.

oOo

"_And so, we shall be joining with the Hidden Note to annihilate the Hidden Terra Village. This is an advanced A Rank Mission that will affect our country in the future." Torune explained to the three, Tsuki seeming unsettled, Daiyo passive and Keenan totally disconnected from the magnitude of the plan._

_The girl ground her teeth, "But why now? Why war with them now, after the rivers of blood and mountains of bodies to sustain this time of peace?"_

_Torune was cold and sharp, "Tamers are, at the very core of it, weapons of the eternal war for supremacy between humans, humans and Digimon and so forth. Such a violent and wrily verbal treaty has no place in a world run by deaths. The Air Lord, that fool, decided to take the agreement at face value, sending clients to the Terra while leaving his own Hidden Village in a state of poverty and disrepair! To combat the threat of invasion due to our weak moment, we spawned Tamers like you, Keenan, as a weapon."_

_Keenan looked away, disgusted at the mention of his birth._

"_We will show that foolish Air Lord how idiotic he's been, but first, we must take care of our biggest threat, the Terra Village. If they gain from the mentally challenged Lord, we might as well start buffing their boots. We will have lost all ability to rebel against them if we put this off any longer. Keenan… this mission is what you were born for; it's your destiny."_

"…_Sure…"_

oOo

"Were the heck am I?" Tai's voice echoed in the dimly lit, sewer system like tunnel he was currently stood in. One second his eyes saw a flash, and the next he was here, in the tunnel dripping with water and with rusted pipes cross sectioned like veins throughout.

Other than that was a low hiss, which grew rampant from a specific location around the corner, as if it had gained life for a brief second.

Tai began walking after the rasping tone, a familiar tug in his stomach, _This feeling… it's the red energy I felt before…_

Noticing a thick light at the end of the tunnel, Tai's eyes adjusted, and he gasped in the centre of a room, filled to his ankles with a strange water, a large gate with iron bars before him, easily many times his size, with a dark eminent glow inside of it.

"That's the red energy!" Tai recognized, taking steps forward before the rasping turned into a secondary howl from within the cage, a large, and we're talking _larger than life_, shadow appearing within the energy as if crafted by it.

The creature was noticeably inhuman. It had a muscular body, with some ragged robes around him, and his ankles and wrists held by shackles of an aged metal, the chains long and snapped around it. Behind it, nine flitting energy tails lashed from beneath his robes, all nine red and black, as if pure energy contained in that form. And the creature's omnisciently demonic face was covered by a mask above the nose, its mouth in a high snarl and growl, the mask wrapping around his temples and forming two large horns from its face, a red eye symbol in the centre.

Tai could tell from the hiss, the energy (a colossal amount) that this thing was the source of his power bursts, this ominous creature behind the large confinement gate with a small paper tag with the kanji 'IMPRISON' upon it, apparently holding it in.

"**LITTLE BOY… WHAT DO YOU WANT? I HAVE NO WORDS TO WASTE ON THE DOMINANT SOUL OF THIS PITIFUL HUMAN VESSEL OF A PRISON, I'D KILL YOU HERE AND NOW, BUT THAT TAG AND SEAL CONFOUND ME.**"

Tai felt a plunge inside, "You're… Lucifermon?"

"**STRUGGLE ALL YOU LIKE, YOU WILL NEVER FIND A DIGIMON AS POWERFUL OR RECOGNIZABLE AS ME. ALL BOW BEFORE ME, FEAR ME… YET YOU DO NOT BOW… TELL ME, WHY HAVE YOU COME TO THIS PLACE AFTER ALL THIS TIME?**"

"Well, to be honest, it was feeling cramped in body. After all, you haven't paid your rent for staying inside me." Tai snorted, not in the least afraid, knowing that if the creature could escape and harm him, it would have done already, "So, as I need it and you haven't exactly got a magazine to distract yourself with, how about throwing a bit of your energy my way?"

The creature was beside itself, silent and pondering for a moment, before it changed its snarl into a devilish smile, "**INCREDIBLE… YOU ARE THE FIRST TO EVER STAND UP TO ME LIKE THAT IN ALL THE EONS I HAVE EXISTED… AND TO THINK YOU ARE A PITIFUL HUMAN… VERY WELL, AS REWARD FOR YOUR BRAVERY, I WILL AFFORD YOU A SMALL AMOUNT!**"

oOo

Tai knew it when he flashed back into reality, feeling the grand power of Lucifermon's digital energy and his chikara combined. Biting his thumb and performing the seals, he knew this would work. Black ink shot from his palm in the air, a large poof of smoke coming forth.

Gennai snickered at his success, but sweatdropped at the sight of who he summoned.

"Kaerumon…!"

xxx

**_Next Episode: _**_Kaerumon, Boss of Amphibians!_

xxx

**A/N: **Well, there you have it. See you next time!


	24. Episode Twenty Four

**A/N: **Major plot advancement, as we shed light on the enigma of Keenan, and also, we finally begin the third and final trial of the T'rin Exams, overseen by the Senksha, Hyoko, and the Fourth Kukisha!

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty Four: Kaerumon, Boss of Amphibians!**_

…

Gennai wiped his chin roughly with the back of his hand, _Of all the things to summon… I knew that with the energy he'd summon a Mega level amphibian, but for it to be that stubborn old toad… even as a sage of the amphibians, that one is still rowdy and uncontrollable for me._

Tai scanned what he had bounced off of, taking in the Digimon's appearance; it was a gargantuan toad that would likely tower over the emergent trees of the Deathly Forest. It had orange, warted skin, red markings running from its eyes and a large vertical scar on its left. It wore a large open kimono coat and held a sheathed sword in large wrapping at the side.

Tai thrust his fists up, "I did it! I did the _Transportation Technique!_"

The toad arched its prominent brows, "What'd ya mean, 'I'? Where in ta world is Gennai? As if he'd have ta gall to call me out here and stop this obnoxious brat dyin'."

_This thing sure has a weird speech, _Tai thought, looking into the large eyes of the toad after using its contorted brows as a makeshift slide down to the nose.

"Ah… that strange verbal tic- it is him!" Gennai grumbled, "I was hoping to not call him for a while; I still owe him for the Old Maid game I lost…"

"What are you talking about? Who's Gennai?" Tai asked (he knew him naturally as Old Prune), "I called you here."

"YOU?" the Mega repeated in disbelief, breaking up with an immense laughter that trembled the crevice walls he clung to, "Ya really needn't lie to me, kid. I know that Gennai is a disgrace ta be around, but look at ya! You're too pitiful to call me!"

"Oh yeah? Well I called you, so that'd make me your master!" Tai spat back reasonably, "SO SHUT UP, YOU OILY OLD FROG!"

Kaerumon once again was at a loss for words worthy of his erupting spite toward the miniscule human boy stood on his face in this watery crevice.

Eventually, the Mega snarled, arching its brows, "What's this? A little upstart Tamer who thought he'd get credit for summoning me to this dank place… do ya know that you're lyin' to Kaerumon, the chief toad and boss amphibian?" his tone grew dark, "I COULD JUST THROW YA DOWN THIS CREVICE, WITH NO HOPE OF ESCAPIN'!"

Tai took note of the truth in that proclamation, falling to his knees in exhaustion before the bulging eyes of the boss amphibian, "I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to insult you, but I did bring you here!" _Old Prune never said anything like this guy might be summoned! He's scary!_

"However, I admire the guts you've shown me, young Tamer. That bandana… I must be near ta Terra Village… tell ya what; I'll make ya a henchmen of mine for the bravery ya showed. Be grateful!"

Tai nodded fervently, raising his left fist, "Thank you, Master Kaerumon, sir!"

Gennai was busy pushing through a bush of pesky briar thorns when he heard the echo of Tai's worried voice, laughing, "He's allowing the summoned to command the summoner! He has a long way to go! Ha ha ha!"

"Well then, henchman," Kaerumon grumbled as if he was expecting to exert himself. He spat his tongue out, the long, elastic like muscle with grey baubles lining the centre, wrapping it around Tai's body, much to his surprise and chagrin. Chagrin gave way to fear as the chief toad tensed his muscles, jostling Tai with his tongue as ballast as he ascended into the air, high out of the crevice and crashing down with authority on the edge of the escarpment.

Looking across after unfurling his tongue that had wrapped like a taut blanket around the boy (who had passed out from exhaustion and fear from the fall), laying him down on his nose, all the while taking note of the rolled out, well presented sage scroll of contracting.

He took notice to the name beside Gennai's, the blood inscribing of this generation's amphibian contractor, Taichi Kamiya, thinking in normal text without his tic, _For the scroll to be so close, and the blood signing to still look rather fresh, no more than a few weeks dried… well I'll be, Gennai… you've found a treasure in this kid; he's the first that has stood on my head since the Fourth, all those years ago. I am more than willing to heed his call, but I think for now, I should take him for some medical attention…_

oOo

Outside the hospital, which had enjoyed another tranquil day without a single casualty, a rousing tremor reverberated from the courtyard, several nurses and doctors investigating moments later to find Tai laid out cold beside a large toad footprint that had fractured the earth around it.

…

Three days later, Tai found himself stirring in the bed he had been assigned to for extreme exhaustion and low chikara quantity, a possibly fatal occurrence in a person usually found in heavy war like battles, not K'rin training for a trial so close to beginning.

As his dumbbell weight eyes slowly shifted open, his ears allowed in a munching sound, looking across to the visitor's chair sat in awkwardly, feet raised on his bed, by Joe, the Happy Moron Brigade member who chomped on an apple while scanning through a medical text book, only glancing when he caught Tai awake.

"Back from the dead, huh?" Joe inquired overzealously, not retracting his feet at all, "You know, you've been out a while. Not that long, just three whole days."

Tai was still hazy, sitting up in the bed and rubbing his forehead, "What happened to the Old Prune? Why are you here?"

"I really have no chance of putting names to faces if that's all you got," quipped the bespectacled boy reasonably, "also, I'm here because of JP getting food poisoning; he ate too much again and had to get his stomach pumped. Also, I want to make sure your there tomorrow for when I get payback for that nickname you've branded me and the team with."

Tai burst into a fit of laughter, "That sounds just like JP! You sure can count on the Happy Moron Brigade doing something funny!"

His visitor twitched, _Either he's ignored what I just said completely, or he's the biggest idiot of them all!_ "Oh yeah! I brought this fruit basket to your room as well, seeing as JP refused it. And believe me, I don't think it was just for the pump."

"A nice member of the Happy Moron Brigade?" Tai was bereft of amazement since it was Joe, "You always were a good guy, so was JP! I just get annoyed by the pink princess chick who orders you around."

Sighing, Joe went on, "You don't know the half of it. Actually, you might. Mimi hasn't visited JP at all since he came here, but has only gone to one room; the one Matt was in before he left without a word. You'd think since Matt isn't there, she'd visit JP, and Sora would come see you."

"Sora? She hasn't been in?"

"Seems like Matt's the only thing that's on her mind right now."

Tai looked deposed, his face sinking, "I see… well, it's not like it's unexpected or anything, so…," he noticed the uncaring look he was getting, changing the subject quick, "Hey! Let's go eat in front of JP! He shouldn't be able to eat, I bet he's starving!"

Joe smiled back, pointing to his right cheek, "You've got a little evil on your face here and everywhere else… I like that. I'm in, let's go."

…

Keenan stumbled through the hallways, his eyes focused into a singular, possessed tunnel vision in the winding tunnel hallways, ignoring all of the doors and signs beside them except for one, clutching his head in a jostling pain at the sign for 'ROOM 3D' with a small slip in paper beneath it, reading boldly 'MARCUS DAMON'.

His mind felt slighted, giving way to the stinging sensation he usually got; that only he got. He recalled fragmented memories of the green screen several weeks ago that read his name and Marcus's in bold.

Unable to resist the urge, he hooked his small fingers carefully into the sliding door grip, slamming it open, the sound echoing in the seemingly empty hospital, his eyes burning at the sight of Marcus sleeping blissfully in the bed.

…

JP was in a single room also, more of an exam room in truth, the plump boy sat against the bedstead, mumbling as translation for his stomach, "I'm starved… why can't I summon in here? At least Dakimon feels my pain, he had indigestion and can't eat either…"

His sliding door slipped open, much to his surprise, Mimi strafing in tauntingly with her fruit basket held before her, "Been a while, JP! Feeling any better?"

Her teammate felt his eyes welt and threaten leaking, _Even if I'm a second choice to visit besides Matt, I've got a cute girl in my room with food! Best visitor ever!_

…

Keenan thrust his hand out before him, over Marcus's face, sand from his boomerang breaking down and twisting atop the teen, the granules twisting like a vice around his face and body, Keenan beginning to clench his palm before freezing abruptly.

_I can't move! _He discovered, a fist quaking his cheek and only slightly cracking the armour he was wearing, Joe grunting and holding his cheek, forcing the youth to do the same by way of the shadow mimicry, Tai looking beyond furious as he paced back beside Joe.

"Hey, genius! My body moves like his while I'm controlling his shadow, so if he gets hit in the cheek, my body suffers the same damage!" explained Joe, irking and slight loathing written on his face.

"Sorry," he grovelingly apologised, turning his head back to the ten year old he had just punched in rage, twitching his brow as the armour reformed, "So, kid… just what were you thinking of doing to Marcus?"

"What does it look like? I was going to kill him," Keenan relayed coldly and without expression, the pair before him freezing, "Stand in my way, and you both shall be victims."

Joe reasoned cautiously, "You won the fight you had, so there is no need for you to take it to such an extreme, is there?" _This kid is younger than me and Tai, yet he's got the kind of look in his eye of someone who has spilt an irredeemable amount of blood…_

"Need? What are you babbling on about. I desired to kill him, but I need a reason? Do you have any idea what that amounts to in my eyes?"

Tai spat angrily, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"Calm down, Tai," the blue haired elder gestured for calm, noticing worriedly that Keenan was not as affected as others by his technique, "You must have had a strange upbringing if you seriously believe you can kill others."

"I'LL KICK HIS ASS!"

"Idiot, I said calm down!" _This is very bad… if this particular kid starts something, we might not be able to finish it with our lives, _"Sure, we've seen your special ability, and I'll admit, your plenty strong. But, me and Tai have a few 'tricks' of our own that you haven't seen; we didn't use them in the prelims."

Tai looked across to Joe and noticed the cold bead falling down his face, _He's trying to bluff his way out of this… but will it work against a guy like this?_

"Besides, kid. In case you haven't noticed, it is a definite two on one advantage to use, so why not leave now, before the three of us destroy this hospital."

Keenan still looked unperturbed and calm, "Against two people? I've fought off multiple T'rin on my own, so how about you stay out of my way, or I'll kill you both."

"Oh, that's it!" Tai barked, tromping toward Keenan before Joe pulled him back, Keenan not following his moves any longer.

"Idiot!" his fellow Terra K'rin hissed, "This guy has the kind of power even demons would fear!"

"Well he can bring it on! Unlike him, I have the real thing inside of me!" he confidently stated with intense eyes.

Something about that seemed to strike Keenan, the boy's eyes flickering open for a moment for all of his glassy gold iris to become visible, only to return to normal seconds later, "A demon… well, seems we'd be compatriots on that… as you stated, I had a… difficult childhood. My mother died giving birth to me after she and father sold me before I became of this world, selling an unborn to the Kukisha for experimentation Genina… mother passed unexpectedly while she bore me. I was born a monster and a slave…"

Tai stiffened beside Joe, who responded with an bridged brow, _Experimentation Genina? What is this kid talking about?_

"I was sold as a slave in secret before I was conceived even, my mother and father were short on money from all of their… drinking and gambling issues. In my mother's womb, I was experimentaed on with Genina, the culmination of it all being the infusion of a legendary sand devil into my body just before birth. Its name was a mythical Digimon called Barbamon, one that controlled aging and the sand of anything it touched."

Joe was sceptic naturally, sweatdropping, "You think I'd buy a story about the Kukisha secretly experimenting on a random unborn baby, the one he then proceeded to use an infusing sealing Genina on? It's crazy…"

Tai was sweating a gallon a minute, his head pounding, _H-he's the same as me? One year after it happened to me, it happened to him?_

"Well, your old man must have had a sick notion of love to take the money his lover died for and ditch his kid."

Keenan looked furious for the first time, as if he would kill them with his hands if he wasn't currently incapacitated by the shadow, "You speak to me about love? Do not standardise my father's ideas on me with such a petty word. You want to know the connection I feel for my adoptive family? The kind I'd wrap around their necks like a noose, since they all despise my existence."

Tai and Joe stood there, unable to retort or reprimand him.

"With the demise of my mother, I was born into this world alone and unwanted, but the Kukisha took me in as a false guise of care for his new weapon. He taught me the innermost secrets of the Digital World and pampered me. For some time, I believed that to be loving affection… of course, I had to rethink that after the first assassin appeared on his orders…"

"Assassin?" Joe blurted, "But you just said he valued you as a weapon!"

"He did, however, while some blades may dull over time, I grew sharper and more deadly, but not always on purpose… even the fools in my village began to notice I had emotional issues by the time I was six, which is when the first assassin appeared. You see, although I am the greatest weapon in the Sandstorm military, I was still only a human child that could kill, making me an idol of terror. The Kukisha quickly noticed he had made a mistake and wanted it to just go away… to them I was disposable, so then the question arose; 'why go on'? The people, my reason for existing, detested me as a weapon that had backfired. Without that, it was like walking while dead."

Joe was at a loss, _This guy is talking in a cryptic way… what the hell is he talking about?_

_I… I understand him perfectly! _Tai took a pace back, _He's like me! He hates the world like I used to!_

Keenan shut his eyes wisely, "Through the various assassins I murdered since the time I was five, I have thought long and hard on my new purpose of existence in the Digital World. But as more and more assassins trailed me to their deaths, I realized how fleeting natural humans truly were, how they are simple to break down into material to make me stronger; bones, blood and the iron inside to strengthen my sand. So at last, I found my purpose; to become the strongest being in the Digital World. That throne will make people acknowledge me through fear! As long as I have fear attached to my name, I will not have disappeared!"

Joe glanced down at his withering shadow, _Not good… this guy is out of his mind, and I can only paralyze him for a few more seconds, _he glanced across to Tai, "Don't you dare space out on me right now!"

_I was alone as well for a full eleven years… but Zaki-sensei took notice of me, and acted like the dad I never had. Thanks to him and being on Squad Seven, I experienced what it meant to not be transparent; to be there, enjoying life! _Tai's eyes flickered with a trace of fear, _But this kid had to find an answer for living on his own… I have Agumon as a close friend and partner, but I bet that he was too radical for any Digimon to join with him. He really is all alone, in a sad little life of killing to justify him still being alive… I'm not sure I can beat a kid as ruthless as this!_

Joe was looking at Tai, noticing a quaking in his knees and shoulders, "Hey! I said, don't you dare space out on me!" it was that brief instance of diverted focus that led to the premature release of the _Shadow Mimicry Technique_, the caster jerking his head back to Keenan, "Crap! He's free!"

Without moving a muscle, the sand that had wrapped Marcus hovered behind Keenan, forging a spike of the fluid sand that began to descend at the K'rin before him, "NOW, LET ME FEEL LIFE!" the maddened K'rin repulsively said, a heavy excitement in his demented tone.

"ENOUGH!" Spencer bellowed, briskly stomping into the recovery room of his son, only to find the very cause of his ailment stood there, "The finals are tomorrow in the stadium, not here. Unless, of course, you would all prefer to be bedridden in this hospital by tomorrow morning?"

_-I don't know what sort of monster raised you kid, but I take care of my precious son, even at the risk of my status, reputation and life. I don't care if he's strong or not; he's my son, and my precious comrade also._

Keenan griped, snapping his hand up to his stinging head. What was this sensation? He wondered that, staggering across to the door Spencer showed him through, the sand reforming the sheathed boomerang as he went.

The young boy stopped without looking back, "Regardless of when, I will kill you. I will never fade away…" and with that, he went through the door, his close footsteps fading softly away.

oOo

The streets were packed, practically brimming with temporary tenants of the Terra Village, as today was the day that the T'rin Exam officially concluded; the tournament was nigh!

oOo

Yoshi panted rapidly and densely, exhausted.

Her weapons were strewn about the forest training area Thomas had been training in for the month. Thomas himself was stood intimidatingly still in a strangely carved dent in the earth beneath him, shaped like the bottom of a sphere, the wind still whistling as it blew against itself, away from the Norstien.

"P-perfect… this is amazing, Thomas! With this technique, Matt'll be no issue!" Yoshi cheered inbetween gasps, straightening up.

Thomas remained still for a moment before releasing his breath, "… Let's go…" _The Ishida… I wonder if I'll actually have to use this against that Tai kid…_

oOo

Tai stirred in his bed, rousing himself up into a propped position against the bedstead behind him, his eyes slightly purple shaded. Maybe this is how Keenan had the eyes was his inner quip.

_First up against Thomas… a bonus is that I have two summons for Agumon since I saved it when against Davis, and I have the other summoning style down…_ Tai stood up and began getting dressed slowly and sloppily, _still…_

_-The Nexus Points on the chikara system are like stop off points on paths like dango shops and tea houses for chikara. There are in total three hundred and eighty two of them located across the system, controlling the outflow and regulation of the energy. Pressing them will distort, cut off or increase chikara outflow, depending on the whim of the attacker._

_-You see, while me and Marcus may focus solely on the infliction of heavy outer damage, aiming for breaking bones and causing haemorrhaging, the Norstiens are a little different. In their palms, they focus chikara and funnel it into the enemy body to cause devastation from within, injuring the internal organs and damaging the chikara system with a Tekina art they call the 'Hazard Touch'; while nowhere near as entertaining as mine, their Tekina is just as devastating._

_-Well, these points are across the body, the size of a pin or needle head. But this kid is amazing, to assault them in battle when the opponent is constantly shifting… they are barely visible to the untrained Shuhengan, and completely invisible to even the Surugan._

"Calm down, Tai!" he slapped his face reassuringly, "Without those freaky eyes of his, he's just like you; a K'rin with a Digimon partner!" _Speaking of which… I haven't seen his partner… what if it's strong? What if Agumon couldn't manage Ultimate after all? Even if he did, the summon time was cut down by so much for just Champion, it'd be like wasting one of my allowances… no! Come on… just get to the arena. Remember, Tai; Thomas isn't the only one with a special power!_

oOo

Now trudging his way through the filled to capacity paths toward the main entrance of the arena, Tai had time to think, _That's right… I can call amphibians now, including Boss Kaerumon! I have the Nova Blast, and I might have an Ultimate on my side, if not a stronger Champion! _Keenan suddenly flashed in his mind, _That kid… I'm not sure I can compete with that… he's too much like me as well; I don't think I can hurt him, I know how much he's suffered already…_

Tai noticed from where he stood the large crowd before the arena, coupled with his mindset, he decided to take a detour, seeing as he had a full hour before his match begun.

oOo

Walking back to the first place he trained as a K'rin, Tai looked for the stumps he and Agumon were tied too for failing alone against Satsuma. It was amazing how in sync and powerful they became as a team since then…

Finding the stumps, Tai was amazed when he found a curled up form sat at the base of the centre stump Kudamon once sat with the contracts. Taking in the small and almost pitifully frail form, that purple hair and the girl's stammering of even breathing…, "Mikoto?"

"Ah!" she shot up and hid behind the stump in surprise, "T-Tai? S-shouldn't you be up at the arena…?"

"Well, I thought I'd come here for a little thinking… I was turned into a K'rin here, even though I was tied to those stumps in the test…" he embarrassedly input, "Hey, Mikoto… Thomas is your cousin, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"He's super strong, right?"

"Yeah… b-but Tai, you might be able to beat him- your-,"

"Yeah, I'm really strong myself!" he laughed, the conversation dead in the water and silent for a moment after, "But still, he was impressive in his match against you…"

Mikoto straightened her brittle form up beside the stump, "Tai! You have a strength my cousin could never have! R-remember when you cheered me on at the prelims? I felt so strong and different, like I had changed, even though the others say I'm exactly the same…"

"But you are amazingly strong, Mikoto! I was amazed when you did that Tekina! Compared to you," his voice dipped, "I'm just the class clown that had a big mouth. Although I look strong, it's mostly just big words to show that I'm not afraid because I'm a failure."

"That may be true… but, in my eyes, you're a proud failure… Even when you get hit down, you get right back up. I-I believe that is true strength, like you said, to never give up. Also, when I'm around you… your strength makes me feel fuzzy inside…"

Tai's jaw remained dropped a little as he listened, _I don't get the last bit of that, but, _"Thanks, Mikoto… I was feeling so down and out this morning, but I guess I should at least give it a good try like you did against that blondie cousin of yours. Besides, I vowed that I would win for you."

Mikoto's heart skipped a beat, _Did I just hear that right? W-win for me?_

Tai turned on his heel, "I used to think you were a bit of a quiet weirdo… but now I know the real you. A person who cares about others the way you do, I really like that in a person! Remember to come watch me kick Thomas's ass! I promised to win for you!"

She followed him with her eyes as he slowly began heading toward the arena through the forest training area. Her beetroot shaded face and open mouth that managed no words said it all for her.

Davis was leant on the back bark of a nearby tree, his arms crossed and nodding; he had overheard everything and knew how to interpret it, _Lucky you, Mikoto. Well, seems like you grew a little stronger and closer to Tai all at once. _He walked out from behind the tree, "Mikoto! Get some feeling back in your legs, we have to go and cheer Izzy on!" _Shame he's too much of an idiot to realize what winning for a girl means…_

oOo

The arena itself was rather eloquent, a traditional dishbowl shaped building of great size with a large building extension on the side like a small tower of sorts for the Shas during the T'rin Exams. Beneath the sunroofs above all three sections of the crowd area were pillars that upheld them, rows rising up to the back, all seats filled to capacity in anticipation.

Sora and Mimi sat worriedly in their seats, "Where's Matt? Doesn't he realize he'll be disqualified if he doesn't get here soon?!" Mimi irritably snipped, Sora quiet beside her.

All the challengers present and correct were stood before all three rows of onlookers above on the podium like stands, their battle terrain made of dirt and earth like a mountainous terrain, but also possessing a few trees dotted around the large battle area.

"Where's Matt, isn't he here yet?" Tai asked.

Joe was stood beside him, looking frantically as well, "Where's that Shindo guy that Takato has to fight?"

Takato seemed calm in light of the fact that his assigned opponent had vanished, "If he gets disqualified, then it'll be easier for me and Kazu to have our fight like we promised."

"Not that he'll make it that far, of course," Rika corrected snobbishly, earning a glare from Kazu, but not one totally filled with displacement at the comment, "since he has to fight me."

"Hey, stand present and correct, kids," the T'rin assigned to them, the one with the bandana headband from the second trial, timidly interjected, "these folks are here to see you. Make sure you look good and give a good show to them."

There were thunderous cheers for many competitors, such as the betting favourites Thomas, Keenan and Matt, many seemingly forgetting Tai and Joe were even there.

Tai did not take much notice, _Is Matt not here? Where is he, he'd better be ready! That Keenan kid is ready for a fight!_

Sora was along the very same, worrisome downer she had been sleep deprived for nearly a month by, _Did Matt really leave the hospital of his own accord, or was he taken by that Bashiori creep? What happened with that mark he has?_

The Senksha was seated on the viewing balcony of the tower extension, higher than the stands to assure his importance. Hyoko was sat in one of the two seats intended for the two Shas.

Beside him was a T'rin with a slightly burned left cheek and a small scar over his right eye, bending over at the gesture to come over, "Has Yamato been located yet?" Hyoko discreetly inquired.

The T'rin was tardy with his response, "Not yet, but with the very best DATS trackers we have not finding a thing, he could already be in Bashiori's grasp. And if that's the case… I'm afraid no amount of tracking Genina will be enough."

"I understand," the old man dismissed him, noticing the three figures heading toward him, "Ah, it's been a long time, Lord Kukisha!"

The Kukisha was the Fourth in the line of Sha from the Land of Air, and stood sternly before his seat, staring through Hyoko analytically through the small gap between his veil mask and Kukisha hat, his body covered by baggy white robes with blue trimming.

Mimi stared silently among the throngs of roaring cheers beside her at Sora, who looked like she wanted to crawl into a ball, "Sora, I get why your depressed; I feel the same way. But even though he's missing, don't you think there is another member of your three man Squad that need support? He's on first!"

Sora was taken aback, giving a demure look at Mimi before falsifying a smile, "Your right… I haven't helped him at all in the month, so I guess it's the least I can do for Tai."

The Kukisha sat on the seat beside Hyoko, the Senksha. The two village leaders looked into each other's eyes, almost looking beyond them in a way.

Keenan was shooting a rage filled glare a hate up to his adoptive father, his true son and daughter looking shakily up at him, Torune unnerved in the stand seat he had received.

"Well, it seems that you are well, Lord Kukisha, my old friend. Was the journey difficult for you?" Hyoko asked in his gentle voice, some cynicism still detectable, however.

The Kukisha heatedly, but calmly, retorted, "Well, it was rather easy for a youthful man, but if the Exams were not here in your village, I am sure you couldn't take the journey… isn't it about time you decide on the _Fifth Senksha_? Pamper yourself in your fading years…"

Hyoko spitefully laughed at the crack, "Please, I may look old and broken from my advanced years, but I still have five or so years left in me…" his eyes sharpened as he stood up, walking across to the edge of their balcony, "THANK YOU, ALL THAT HAVE MADE THE TRAVEL TO THIS YEAR'S T'RIN EXAMS, HELD HERE IN THE TERRA VILLAGE! WE WILL NOW COMMENCE THE THIRD AND FINAL TRIAL!"

The T'rin down by the K'rin pulled out a piece of paper with the tournament listings, his voice sharp, "Listen up. Due to the withdrawal of the Hidden Note, Shindo will not be fighting today. As a result of this, Takato is a spare man without an opponent. To aid this, an extra match has been assigned, the handicapped competitor that wins this extra match will have their summoning seal reinforced to allow an extra summon of their Digimon partner as compensation. After sifting through the names in a random process, we've found that the winner of Izzy and Daiyo's match will have the privilege of this additional match."

Daiyo snidely snorted, the Black Widow rustling in its wrappings on his back as he fidgeted angrily, _You can't be serious… not only do I have the immense pressure on me here to keep cool, but I have to fight an extra match against that lightning guy from the Storm? I seriously call time out, man!_

Izzy seemed unperturbed, so the T'rin went on, "Ensure your Digivices are on your persons. This is the first year they have been given to K'rin, or used at the Exams, so we want to show off their power and pluses on the battlefield." He finished, noticing Tai shoot his hand up high, "Yeah, what is it?"

Tai pulled his hand down, "Matt isn't here yet! What'll happen if he doesn't arrive?"

"I he isn't here after your match, since he's on second, he'll be disqualified, and Keenan will win by default."

Tai scratched his chin sagely, _Strange… knowing him, he'd be here even if he had to drag himself across a bed of needles! Plus, there is what he said back during the prelims…_

_-"Tai," Matt chuckled, turning back with a face inbetween proud and pained, "you're one of the strong ones I want to fight!"_

Keenan clenched his fists at his sides, hidden from the view of the spectators by his large gourd and boomerang.

oOo

"_-Matt, once more!-"_

_The sand forged eye technique of Keenan's formed above a rock formation he hid behind, the boy viewing through it at Satsuma and Matt, stood in a practically decimated mountainous training area with several dents on the large boulders near them, a sign of something powerful being unleashed._

"_-Here I come, so ready the technique.-"_

_Keenan prepared himself, clenching his fingers in exercise behind the rock._

oOo

Torune looked down fearfully, noticing the bobbed down head of Keenan, his tied bangs covering his blackened eyes, but not his satanic smirk, _Oh no… he couldn't have killed the Ishida already, could he? We only lost sight of him three days ago for an hour… things could be bad; I told him not to make a scene, and yet he could've easily gone and-_

The T'rin went on, tucking the paper away, "The rules are the same as the preliminaries; there are none except for the restrictions on summoning. I'm sure you know how many partner summons you have available now based on your prelim fights. You fight until one acknowledges defeat, dies, or if I decide a match is over, in which case there's no arguing allowed."

There were none, the now ten competitors silent and obligatory, Tai and Sora still awaiting Matt to make it eleven.

"Now then, the first match between Taichi Kamiya and Thomas Norstien will begin now. All of you waiting please proceed to the waiting platform by following the stairwell up."

Up in the stands, Davis finally found a pair of seats, gesturing for Mikoto to come over, "There's two over here!"

Mimi sighed and rested against her palm, "Too bad this'll be a short match. Tai may have gotten lucky against Davis, but he has no hope in hell against Thomas."

Sora spun in her seat, "He isn't that bad! You haven't seen him on missions, or when we got attacked in the Deathly Forest!"

"Not that bad? Are you kidding me? He's the class dunce, for crying out loud! And when the whole thing in the Forest went down, I believe I saw him flat on his back, out cold."

Sora bridged the gap between her brows, _I never did tell her about Bashiori…, _"Just watch, he's stronger than you think!"

Davis sat snugly in his seat overhearing the voices over his shoulder.

"-It's _that _kid… how is he even allowed in?-"

"-Whatever he did, he's a complete mismatch. He'll be down in seconds- the Norstiens are too powerful for that shrimp-."

Davis smirked longingly, _Ah… the days when I used to think like that… before I underestimated him and am now sat up here instead of being down there. All the rookies from my class will have completely put him down as a loser, but they haven't fought him. They don't know._

Davis's smirk faded as a scent suddenly came to his powerful nose, snatching his attention. The flitting character was recognized by him in the very back of the bleachers, covered from head to toe in a large, hooded robe with an animal mask visible.

He scowled, _What in the hell are the DATS guys doing here? Is something big going down?_

Down in the arena, the two competitors face to face, Thomas noticed a faint glimmer in Tai's eye, goading him, "Something you want say, junior? Thinking about surrendering? It'd be the smart option."

Tai thrust his fist forward; the one he had vowed upon with Mikoto's blood, "As I said, your ass is mine! No need to surrender against someone you plan to beat, is there?"

Hyoko sternly gazed down upon the match, _It's not just the three year age difference or experience Tai has to worry about; it's the Bloodline Trait, the Shuhengan he needs to concern himself with._

As if on cue, Thomas assumed his slack battle stance, activating his Shuhengan, noticing not even a flicker in Tai's eyes, _He totally believes in his abilities and prowess… he hasn't the slightest sense of doubt in his mind… no wonder Mikoto was inspired by him; he's a blunt fool._

Tai tightened into his pre-fight stance, almost a hunched over position. The T'rin Proctor took heed of this and cut through the air with his hand, "BEGIN!"

Thomas snickered, "Well, when your fate hits you like I plan to, you'll realize that destiny cannot be tampered, and you were created to be inferior to me. It's the law of the universe."

Tai sneered, "Bring it on," he hissed in response.

Mikoto's father was sat at the foremost row of the left stand, his other daughter, Minami, sat on the edge of her seat, "Watch carefully, Minami… that boy has the thickest Norstien blood for generations… he'll practically be using that other boy as a punching bag."

"Yes father," she acknowledged, edging closer to the railing in front of her seat.

Davis bit his lip, _The clone distraction you used on me before with that Nova Blast won't do much here; he can actually see your chikara, so common clones are out. He also has the Nexus Points… but does Tai know that he'll have to keep his distance?_

Tai felt like time slowed as he recalled everything he needed to.

_-Well, these points are across the body, the size of a pin or needle head. But this kid is amazing, to assault them in battle when the opponent is constantly shifting… they are barely visible to the untrained Shuhengan, and completely invisible to even the Surugan._

_-Unfortunately for Mikoto, this match was over the second Thomas assaulted her Nexus Points. With no chikara flow, she can't perform her Hazard Touch palm thrusts, summon her partner or perform the eye technique of the Shuhengan. It is over for her._

_-The Nexus Points on the chikara system are like stop off points on paths like dango shops and tea houses for chikara. There are in total three hundred and eighty two of them located across the system, controlling the outflow and regulation of the energy. Pressing them will distort, cut off or increase chikara outflow, depending on the whim of the attacker._

Tai felt a bead slip down his face, _So, in short, he can see inside me, my Nexus Points… if he hits those, I can't use techniques like Genina, and I'll be injured at the same time, making Tekina harder on a dexterous guy like this… then there's his partner that I haven't seen before, and what Satsuma-sensei said… about an 'eye technique' of the Shuhengan… what is it? No, clear your head… first off, gauge how well Tekina would work against him and pulled back if he goes for my Points._

Tai reacted to the skidding of dirt at Thomas's feet, quickly hooking his hand around three kunai in his pouch, throwing them all toward the blonde. Thomas easily grasped the temper of the first approaching blade, swinging the hilt of it into the second kunai and stopping the third by latching it into the small loop of iron at the hilt for wire and paper bomb attachments.

Thomas tossed the kunai he held away as well, Tai fast approaching for a frontal assault.

Davis felt like jeering at him, _Idiot! A front attack will never work, not against the Shuhengan!_

Going for a direct punch as his first 'gauge', Tai was swept aside by a gentle palm tap on his knuckles, diverting the energy as Thomas stepped aside.

Far from done, the big haired K'rin twisted on his forward foot's toes and spun into a roundhouse kick directed at the elder boy's head, only to have it roughly grabbed and thrown aside, Tai flipping a multitude of times before landing on his feet, launching back toward Thomas with a volley of hasty, almost blurred fists, all of them parried by equally quick acting palms.

Tenma was sat beside Harima, critical of Tai's approach, "That fool… I knew he had nothing on the Norstien; he's just flailing at him!"

Harima puffed out the plume of cigarette smoke, chuckling, "You really are a new O'rin, Tenma… first you don't know who Kaname is, and now you can't see the dangerous but effective gamble he's making. If you look closer, you'll see a flex in his arms and legs when going for an attack, meaning he's ready to pull back at all times. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Tai was gauging Thomas to see if Tekina would work."

Tai was growing tired of this consistent parrying, _Time to pull out, Tekina has to be a final resort by the way this is going!_

Leaping back without interference by Thomas, Tai found himself wondering to himself whether he had been gauged also.

_If he has… time to test some Genina, _Tai crossed his fingers in his signature technique hand seal, "_Shadow Body Splitting!_"

xxx

_**Next Episode: **__Thomas vs Tai! The Senkai Technique!_

xxx

**A/N: **What is this fearsome ability that the Shuhengan has that the Surugan does not? How will Tai combat such a dangerous and dexterous foe?

See next time!


	25. Episode Twenty Five

**A/N: **Twenty fifth chapter is up! The most I have ever made for a single story by a long shot!

And my favourite character's replacement still has to appear yet! Still unsure of a good name that isn't Akatsuki…

xxx

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty Five: **__Thomas vs Tai! The Senkai Technique!_

xxx

Tai's clones burst forth; four bodies in addition to his own facing Thomas down, reaching in synch for a kunai each, holding the knives tentatively.

One T'rin near Mikoto filled her with hope with his surprised outburst, "Hey, that's an O'rin level technique… this fight might be good if he can make solid clones like this."

_Shadow clones, _Thomas tightened his posture, "I see, even to the Shuhengan, all of the clones have a real chikara system… still, there is only one real body in the end. If you're gonna come, come."

"Stop acting so tough," all five snapped back with a smirk, broadening their grips on the kunai.

Yoshi looked down from the stands in a black Chinese style dress for the occasion, her made up features smiling sweetly, _That little kid should quit while he can; Thomas's defence is too great for an eleven year old to break through._

All of the clones and the real body began to charge directly at Thomas, kunai thrust forth, the doppelgangers wording a word to complete a sentence.

"-STOP-"

"-ACTING-"

"-SO-"

"-TOUGH!-"

Thomas shrugged into his fighting stance, treating the oncoming five enemies like cumbersome insects. He placed his palms onto the napes of the two foremost clones, pushing them back and springing forward in a pike frontal flip, slamming his heel into the back of another clone's skull, dispersing him into smoke.

With his Shuhengan's peripheral sight, he spotted two approaching from each side of him as he landed, throwing fists for a pincer attack. In response, he springboarded off of the earth, twisting rapidly in the air and outstretching his legs, one catching a clone's chin and the other in the back of his head, both being sublimated and dispelling the technique.

The final Tai clone and the original charged abruptly, each armed with a kunai still, and springing off with force, pulling the knife down with the weight and momentum they had.

Thomas twisted, turning his back on them, much to the surprise of many before he snatched their wrists holding the hilt, spreading them out with his arms and hoisting his elbows up into their chins as they came down, the real Tai rolling back and his final clone dissipated into a burst of smoke.

Thomas snarled, cocking a calm smirk at Tai as he ditched the stance, straightening up, "I've heard rumours about a ridiculously overzealous boy who recently became a K'rin, stating he'd be the Senksha, regardless of his talentless fate… he has stupid brown hair and is called Taichi. I believe you're that boy, right?"

Tai scowled nervously as he got to his feet, _Is this the Shuhengan? It's like he can see all my clones at once, even behind him!_

"Well, it's impossible with that; even an O'rin level technique isn't enough to become Senksha, so what were you thinking? Destiny is unchangeable, just like the fact that you're weaker than me. Senkshas are decided at birth, naturally having great genius afforded, or a renowned Bloodline Trait or natural brimming talent." His face surprisingly saddened, "The only fate that is certain for us all from birth is pain and death…"

Mikoto's father felt a dark void in the pit of his stomach, _He still bears a deep grudge for Relena… and he has every right to be enraged for what happened to her._

Tai took a hefty gulp of air, re-forging the clone seal, _Still have a lot of chikara… that water walk training was worth it! I would have run out a long time ago if I stayed as I was! _"_Shadow Body Splitting!_"

Thomas's face darkened at the cumbersome group of ten Tai's that formed in an instant, "Idiot… you may have had me for a second with the solid clones, but I know your attack pattern now. Give me some credit…"

"Well, your little speech was getting on my nerves; sounds like you've already given up on a better life!" Tai besmirched from his group.

"YOU-!"

Sora was unimpressed, a demure but critical expression on her face, "That idiot… he's just making Thomas mad and wasting chikara. That's just about the only Genina he has, so unless he's learned something good, it's over."

Mimi beside her nodded. But she still thought that as a teammate, Sora should support him instead of critiquing his every twitch.

oOo

Outside the arena on the highest branch of a nearby tree that towered beside the bowl building, Kurata knelt over a body he had just pierced with several kunai; a DATS member, stealing his cloak and animal mask, "Make it an interesting match for when I get in, Tai… we have a very interesting role to play soon."

oOo

"OOHH!" all ten roared as they charged like an infantry regiment, only their line of spears were a crowded row of kunai, Thomas staring them all down as they approached.

The blonde felt a sudden mixture of rage and distress for Tai's proclamation and his little sister's fate, dodging the first five clones attacks with agile dodges, sidesteps and ducks, his Shuhengan fully primed and looking at the chikara systems of them all.

As one of Tai's clones had his kick blocked by Thomas's nonchalant palm and pushed back with some force, he thought desperately, _We can't land a hit on this guy! He's too fast!_

Thomas felt something snap inside him, forging seals at rapid speed as he twisted from a spin kick he had delivered, all of the Tai clones reflexively retracting as he slammed his palm to the earth, "_Summoning Technique!_" _I'll end this quickly with 'that'!_

Tai blanched among the throngs of himself, dotted around the rising smoke, the crowd cheering, _His partner, eh? What use could his partner be? He was dodging me to begin with and had no trouble with the clones…_

_-Unfortunately for Mikoto, this match was over the second Thomas assaulted her Nexus Points. With no chikara flow, she can't perform her Hazard Touch palm thrusts, summon her partner or perform the eye technique of the Shuhengan. It is over for her._

"I get it!" he realized as Thomas came into sight, his partner Gaomon beside him.

Gaomon was a dog Digimon with blue fur and white around his chest, two large red boxing gloves on the bipedal hound's fists, his large yellow eyes shadowed by his large, flowing red headband.

"Gaomon," Thomas beckoned without looking down at him, "we'll use the Senkai technique to finish this quick!"

"Sir, yes sir!" the faithful dog obliged with a husky accent, tapping Thomas's leg quickly and standing still as his partner performed the seals of Tiger, Dragon, Rat, Dragon and Monkey, Gaomon suddenly flaring a bright blue, several blue 'zeros' around him like Marcus's DNA charge, the being breaking down into this code and fusing into Thomas.

The Shuhengan user's eyes suddenly quelled, but his eye technique was still active, as the pupil and iris were pure. The veins had receeded for some reason, and faint blue markings around the eyes extending down like blue teardrops to the bottom of his chin.

Mikoto's father seemed to freeze in his seat beside Minami, "Senkai!" _One of the ultimate powers of the Shuhengan is fusing with one's own partner Digimon, increasing bodily functions such as power, speed… and unlocking 'that' Norstien hidden ability… even I, the head of the clan, cannot hope to achieve it, but has this mere boy from the branch family…?_

"W-what did that guy just do?" one of the clones turned to another, asking, only to see a suddenly flicker of surprise on the other's face, turning back to find Thomas right before him, those marked Shuhengan eyes piercing him like the palm that expelled chikara through his body, destroying the clone.

Thomas had travelled five good metres in the blink of an eye with a new height of speed.

The blonde sneered as he twisted on the ground, scanning the clones surrounding him and noticing an oditty, acting on it by charging trhough a blockade of three clones to one stood behind them, thrusting his index and middle fingers of his right hand into the left chest cavity.

This Tai did not erupt into smoke, but his compatriot doppelgangers did with vacant expressions; this clone gagged up a heavy cascaded pool of blood beneath him, Thomas standing up straight.

"I told you it was meaningless…," he pointed out, his pure eyes burning with a restrained rage at the staggering, hunched over being before him, "You're the real body. You stood out by not engaging me for fear of me shutting off your Nexus Points."

Tai chided, "And I told you to stop acting so high and mighty…" he got in before vanishing with a poof of smoke.

The blonde looked over his shoulder, finding two bodies above him, fists coiled, _He got me! He predicted that I would use my ability to spot the most chikara in a clone onslaught, and distributed a bigger portion to one clone to confuse me, even telling it to step back!_

"YOU THINK I'D MISS OUT ON HITTING YOU MYSELF?"

Davis shot up from his seat, "DECK HIM, TAI!"

Yoshi, Thomas's partner, was very worried, curling in her seat, _Thomas!_

Tai shot down with his fist, a loud smack sounding, but neither Thomas nor Tai moving an inch while the clone worked his way around behind the blonde.

Tai furrowed his brows, noticing how a light blue hue that flickered like a flame shielded Thomas by interjecting at the point of contact, stopping Tai while Thomas smirked very darkly, his blue marking making it more apparent.

"Fool," Thomas stung like a viper with his voice, the blue hue flame becoming larger, twirling around his body. It was now clear that it was DNA charge chikara he had used, the boy wasting no time and twisting at several RPMs, creating a shockwave that repelled Tai and his clone, the rough landing making the doppelganger burst into plume smoke.

Tai's back skated along the ground, the boy looking back at Thomas as he stopped, a spherical dent in the earth beneath him, _What was that? The eye technique Satsuma-sensei talked about?_

The blonde sneered down at him, "You thought you had won?"

The disgust on his face said yes.

Mikoto's father, Sengoku Norstien, blinked, _Did I just see that? That mere branch family K'rin is capable of performing Senkai: Hariken?_

Sora was aghast, "Tai should have definitely hit him! I heard him hit something!"

Yoshi articulated in her thoughts, her face to filled with elation to move, _That's Thomas's ultimate weapon! The Norstien clan is powerful with natural Shuhengan, but every generation or so, a child or two are born with greater ocular power and can use an ancient power of those eyes; fusing with their partners to heighten strength, speed, sense and logical thinking in battle, as well as allowing Thomas the use of the Hariken, a Tekina by which you release heavy chikara through the pores of your skin and spin like a top, creating that blast. Even an O'rin struggles with releasing from a few pores, but Thomas is so skilled, he can release through all at once, increasing the effectiveness. Even Marcus is thrown by it. It's the ultimate defence, maybe stronger than Keenan's shield of sand!_

Minami seemed thrown, "F-Father… that's…"

Sengoku took a lengthy pause, "It's the sacred technique only found once or twice a generation… it is usually in the main family due to the blood being thickest…," _You truly were robbed of your place my brother… your offspring is leagues ahead of my own…_

Yoshi was still sniggering, _Everyone seems shocked at a K'rin Tamer having such power… yet Thomas is only just warming up!_

"I'm bored by this… I'm going to seal all of your Nexus Points at once," Thomas snarled, crouching down, his legs outstretched forward and backward, bending his torso and holding his left palm like a scale before him, the other raised in the air, upturned, "_Norstien Discipline Art, Divine Rupture Fist._"

Sengoku seemed further irked in his seat, _Even the hidden technique only the head of the clan, I, should know? How could he have managed to master the two arts on his own? _

Thomas flitted in before Tai's eyes, the big haired K'rin half way through a reeling back pace before he was struck by Thomas's index and middle fingers with such speed that he appeared to have eight arms, discharging chikara destructively through Tai's body, striking all of his Nexus Points in a flashy display of speed.

Tai was repulsed by Thomas's final strike, a palm blow to his stomach, sending him soaring through the air and earning a loud and painful crash onto the earth, his body writhing and twitching uncontrollably as he struggled to stand, failing.

Davis, Mikoto, Sora and Mimi all blinked rapidly, as one second Tai stood, the next he was coughing droplets of blood on the ground.

The proctor took a pace forward, _This match is over._

Ever the elitist, Sengoku grovelled in his seat like a defeated dog, _I cannot believe it… I had high hopes for Minami, and even hopes for Mikoto but this branch family member has clearly obtained the sublime abilities of the Norstien clan bloodline… Franz… the head household was for you…_

Thomas walked across to Tai, standing before his bloodied face propped on the dirt, "I have struck all three hundred and eighty two Nexus Points in such a way that chikara is fragmented. Even though I showed mercy, it is a true testament of how tough you are… there aren't many that can survive such an internal assault. But that's probably tour will to see your dream come true… how arrogant. This is but an illusion, you fool."

Mimi slapped her forehead, "What a fool! I was sure he could win for a second!"

Sora sweatdropped, _Tai…!_

Davis watched with remorse at the bloodied mouth of Tai, knowing it was not a great enough indicator of his pain. What got his attention was Mikoto coughing densely and heavily, small globules of crimson staining her hands, _Tai…_

_Damn it…, _Tai cursed, the crimson stain beneath his mouth thick with a large surface area as he went to stand again, finding strength in the memory of Mikoto doing the same at his cheering, although the audience was deathly silent as he got to his feet, slightly hunch backed and covering his stomach with his right arm.

Thomas slanted his head, his eyes still pure and marked, _This guy… impossible… he cannot stand with the internal damage! How is he doing this? _His expression was demure, completely juxtaposed to his inner thoughts on the matter.

"Tai! Stop-!" Mikoto cried, a lump rising in her throat. The lump eventually rose to her mouth, the girl covering her mouth in time to catch the large cough of blood before blacking out onto Davis, the boy looking side to side for aid, the audience to entranced to care.

"I'll look at her," a strange, brisk voice came, emanating from a looming, hooded figure beside Davis, a cheap artistry version of a cat mask on his face, "I'm a friend, I mean you no harm in helping."

Back down in the arena, Tai staggered on his feet, bobbing from side to side, but remaining sturdy like a tree in the midst of a powerful wind, swaying.

The blonde sighed, "Why do you not just surrender? It will be easier on your body. Besides, I bear no significant grudge with you-,"

"SHUT UP! I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOU!"

He fell silent for a moment after his opponent's outburst, "What could you possibly mean?"

"W-why… if you are really this strong… why did you mentally attack Mikoto, a gentle girl who never meant anyone harm, and only gave her best against you?"

Thomas's left eye quivered at the question, "You have no business even going there." His voice seemed disturbed, outraged even.

"I don't care about this main family - branch family stuff in the slightest!" Tai snapped sharply, "But overconfident know-it-alls like you who decide people like Mikoto and me are losers… you all reaaly PISS ME OFF."

Sengoku and Minami retained their silence through pursed, chewed lips.

The blonde appeared completely besmirched, his face contorting in on itself before a sudden cool breeze blew against it, wiping it away and leaving a calm smile, "Fine… if you want to know my quarrel with Mikoto and her father, I'll tell you the fate of the Norstien Branch Family."

Mikoto was laid on the walkway above the bleachers and throngs of fans, Davis and the DATS beside her, knelt.

The DATS member placed his hand on the centre of her chest, his palm suddenly coming alight with a faint green light, Mikoto grunting at the touch.

"W-what?" Davis began.

"Do not worry. I am a doctor- a medical Tamer."

Thomas straightened up, sealing his eyes, the blue markings on the eyelids also, "For centuries… the Norstien clan has had a special Genina they have used on the members of the branch family; a cursed sealing technique of sorts."

"Sealing Genina?" Tai simplified, the audience hushed.

"The technique is placed on branch house members of the clan at birth," he pointed to the area his heart would be located, "it confines the heart of the bearer, meaning that the can never be even close to 'free'. Dreams are worthless to those that bear this seal."

Sengoku turned his head away ashamedly.

"On my chest is a marking of a bird with chains surrounding it like a prison. I never understood what true pain it brought upon me and my fellows until that day when I was eight, six years ago… the Tamer general of the Hidden Storm's military came to the Terra Village to sign an allegiance treaty, and on that same day, the main heir of the Norstiens turned five years old, meaning we could not attend the war ending event. It was Lady Mikoto's fifth birthday."

Thomas's view diverged up instinctively to Sengoku, the pair of pure eyes meeting for a fleeting moment before he turned back.

"My father, Franz Norstien, was slated to be the head of the clan as he was twins with Lord Sengoku… however, he was born lesser into the branch family by mere seconds, decided by fate. He abandoned me and my sister one day, and the next we found him dumped on our doorstep by the main family, dead. We were ignorant of the coup degas he attempted, but still, we were tortured into our 'place' with the seal… I grew cold, distant… yet Relena kept her smile… even after what they did to her!"

oOo

"_It's called tag, Thomas! You have to chase me!" Relena crooned with a sour pout. She was a very small girl of five back then, wearing a black and white trimmed kimono that allowed her long, blonde hair to flourish behind her._

_Thomas was an average sized eight year old, his blonde hair rather spiky compared to the present, "But Relena!" he panted, the two in the middle of a flower infested field, playing tag, "You're the fastest in our clan! I can't catch you!"_

_She smiled gently back at him, stopping, "Well, of course I have to be fast! I want to be a professional runner!"_

"_That's a faulty dream!" he contradicted inbetween breaths, "There's no such thing! Besides, Mom always wanted you to be a shop owner!"_

"_And daddy always said he would never die!" she sourly rebuked, instantly regretting it. Although it was months past, the burning from their torture still panged with Thomas as a sore subject._

_For her sake, as her face had fallen, he said, "Hey, c'mon! Why don't we go home and see Lady Mikoto? It's her birthday, and you're her friend after all!"_

_She looked up, throwing her signature smile his way, "Yeah! That parade in the village is too stuffy anyway!"_

…

_By the time they had gotten there, the main household was in a frenzy, many servants and member of the household darting through the corridors in an uproar. Making their way over to Mikoto's room, Thomas and Relena became silent as sound passed through the paper doors, several presences obviously in the room._

"_-Is Lady Mikoto alright?-"_

"_-She just ate her meal and become deathly ill!-"_

"_-I bet it was those Storm bastards! They've wanted the Shuhengan for years, why not steal them from the heir of the main household?-"_

"_-Stealing her eyes after poisoning her? Those bastards!-"_

"_-Wait, if we accuse without basis-!-"_

"_-Without basis? Lord Sengoku killed that Tamer general outside, Lady Mikoto slung under his arm after she ate the poisoned meal!-"_

_Thomas and his little sister froze in the corridor at these voices, all filled with spite and rage rather than concern. Their young spines tingled and shuddered as their belts wear gripped at, the pair lifted by a member of the household in each hand, sliding the door open and getting everyone's attention._

"_These two were eavesdropping, my lord."_

_Sengoku looked back with narrowed eyes, his nostrils flared like a bulls. Behind him was a futon, Mikoto laid in it, her face dark crimson from fever, "Franz's children… my nephew and niece… take Thomas away, I have something I must discuss with Relena."_

"_Wait!" Thomas called out as the door slid closed, Relena inside. He was carried out and tossed in the dirt, the servant watching him like a hawk as he tried to get back in. _

oOo

Thomas went on, "The seal also acts not only as a self-destruct button and torture device… it will seal away the Shuhengan of the branch family member after death, therefor protecting its secrets as they die in defence of the very household that spite them…"

"What happened to Relena…?" Tai gingerly asked, his heavy breathing gone.

Thomas flickered with an emotion not seen in a while; sadness, "Lady Mikoto… she had been poisoned by the General of the Storm Military, and the matter was dropped because of the war needing an end. But she had been given a deathly toxic substance that nulls nerves and kills from the inside slowly. When we were caught eavesdropping, she had lost the feeling in her legs. The greatest doctor in the Norstien clan had an untested substance to combat it, but they didn't want to lose their heir!" he scowled darkly, "They used a transfer surgical Genina and transplanted all of the damage and toxin into Relena by using her mark as a catalyst! My sister is now wheelchair bound and unable to speak because they denied her that medicine after having the audacity to steal her one dream from her; a five year old!"

Tai looked him dead in the eye, "Listen, I'm sure that Relena wouldn't want you to have hurt Mikoto! You said it yourself! They were cousins and friends!"

"Quiet, her fate had been decided! I have to believe that, or else I admit the world is cruel to those gentle and kind… those who mean no harm, and only enjoyed running, so very… very deeply… they took it from her to save Mikoto's body. If that isn't destiny's intervention, then what is? Your destiny is also simple and precise; you will lose to me right here."

"As if! I'm just taking this in stride!" his voice was spliced with pain and anger, the boy twitching and clasping his arms around his ribs, "If you're so angry about your sister… why not try and find some way to cure her? Why try and kill Mikoto?"

Thomas practically ignored Tai, re-opening his eyes, "That is none of your concern. You could never understand the rage I feel toward those that spited us and stole her happiness away."

To affirm his anger, Thomas used his form's power boost to flash before Tai, tapping him in the meeting point of his ribcage, the chikara burst slamming him away like a hammer.

Turning his back to Tai, Thomas began to pace away, "Goddamn loser…"

"I… dare you… to stay and say that to my face," the all too familiar voice echoed meekly behind him, Tai already back to his feet, but the trembling and quakes at his knees said it all, "Running away from another problem?"

"How dare you! An ignorant rat like you…"

_-Relena, do you want something to eat?_

_-…_

_-Please… just a nod… anything… you haven't eaten in two days!_

_-…_

_-Those jerks… how could they do this to you?! They crippled a five year old that enjoyed running… don't they have hearts? First it was father, then mother died with a broken heart, but this…! They silenced a little girl with such a gentle voice… I hate them all!_

"YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT A BURDEN IS PLACED ON MY SHOULDERS!" Thomas roared, stomping his foot forth in rage, "WE'RE BRANDED BY A SYMBOL THAT THREATENS TO KILL US AT THEIR WHIM! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT FEELS LIKE, KNOWING YOU'VE BEEN HATED AND TREATED LIKE A SLAVE SINCE BIRTH!"

The proctor walked inbetween them, making sure an unnecessary killing blow wasn't given, _He has just said that to the one kid in this village that has it far worse than him… at least he's listened to and known by his family, Tai has none. He's the child that shouldn't be, but is._

Tai leered forward, his face plastered with a cheesy smile, laced with blood streaming down his chin, "Yeah… I know what that's like alright…" _So does Keenan…, _"If anything, you're the one without a clue. So what if we're hated? Rise above it."

Thomas used his Shuhengan to analyse the K'rin's semi opened eyes, seeing no deceit of any kind, his brows arching, _This guy…_

"Stop acting all superior because of your sister being your source of anger… at least you have a family member… and by the way, what the hell is up with you attacking Mikoto mentally like that? I thought you said the role of the branch family was defend, not beat the main family to a bloodied pulp like you did!"

Up on the walkway behind the bleachers, the DATS member was finally bearing fruit, his glowing palm returning life to Mikoto's paled face, "She'll be alright now…"

"Thank goodness," Davis patted him on the shoulder, inhaling deeply through his nose, _Wait… this scent… I've smelt it somewhere before…, _"Hey, do I know you? You've got a strange scent…"

The DATS responded by tapping Davis with his palm, the boy passing out on the spot, his body making no great sound above the small cheers for 'MORE'.

Thomas snickered, "All of your Nexus Points have been pressed, and you cannot focus enough chikara to force them open again. It's over. You won't be using techniques for days, so how do you plan to fight me? Summoning your partner requires energy too, energy you no longer have access to."

"Shut up deciding things behind that Shuhengan and your little merger with that dog of yours!" Tai snarled back, coughing up a plethora of blood globules, his insides on fire, "I will defeat you! I made a solemn promise!"

Thomas raised both hands like scales, shaking his head sarcastically. Placing hands on hips, he decided to see the great change that would accomplish this feat.

Tai held a stern outlook, but in truth, he was conflicted, _He's right though… I can't feel any chikara! I should've stopped gauging him earlier and called Agumon… we'd have come up with something for that stupid merger… merger… Oh!_

_-First, do you realize that you have a special type of chikara? Do you recall when it ever appeared?_

_-Well, there were these times where I felt like my power and chikara increased a lot, but… my memory seems fuzzy, I can't really remember much else… But if I had to describe it, I'd say that my normal chikara felt blue, but back then it felt red, if you know what I mean._

Tai felt injured, but humbled by his recollection, _It's so obvious… I've had the power to reawaken my chikara the whole time! I just need Lucifermon's power! _He shut his eyes as if in meditation, clapping his hands into the Ram seal and focusing, _I know that you've been paying attention all this time… why not make it interesting? GIVE ME YOUR STRENGTH!_

The proctor chided as Thomas turned to him, "Listen, proctor. I'm going to go for the killing blow this time, and if you wish to stop me, halt this match and declare me the victor now. He'll achieve nothing with that hand seal."

Tai begged to differ, bending his legs and focusing, his roar of concentration becoming apparent, "**AAAAHHHHHHH**!" _I can't lose here, not to him!_

_-YOUR ASS IS MINE!_

"Why bother any longer?" the blonde murderously snorted, a false smirk on his face, "All of your Nexus Points have been pressured; no matter how loud you roar, you can't reopen them."

_I must beat him! _"**RRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH**!"

_-I used to think you were a bit of a quiet weirdo… but now I know the real you. A person who cares about others the way you do, I really like that in a person! Remember to come watch me kick Thomas's ass! I promised to win for you!_

_-Tai, I know how it feels; he is a merciless piece of work, that much is true. But he is also one of the elites, and is best saved to taste a loss in a match. It could be you or me, but either way, as long as he experiences defeat, that is fine._

The arrogant blonde decided to croon, seeing as Tai had no chance anymore, "Let me ask one thing of you; why do you care so much about the fact that destiny is decided from birth?"

"BECAUSE PEOPLE CALLED ME A FAILURE… I'LL CHANGE THAT!" he howled back, Thomas feeling a dark chill in his spine and activating the Shuhengan again.

_S-sir? What's happening to him? _Gaomon's voice echoed inside Thomas's head, the source of his greater tactical thinking, _This chill… it's the same type of feeling I get when I Digivolve! But a human can't do that! Especially with energy this terrifying and cold!_

"**HHHAAAAAAAAAA!**" the roaring howl became sharper, and the dust and small pebbles loitered around them began to hover into the air seemingly in retreat of Tai, the boy's body expelling a red, flickering flame from his body like steam, eventually twisting from his feet and shooting up from him in the form of nine faint, red tails.

Tai's body was definitely evolving, a voice in his head echoing his state of evolution, _Devil Trigger Mode!_

Thomas flinched at the steam that irradiated from Tai's cuts, grazes and bruises, all of them disappearing in the haze from his body, _Impossible… he's healing? How can he even have chikara flowing like that? They're pushing all his Points open, one by one!_

He fell back a pace, sweating heavily as his scanning eyes caught the energy burning through his chikara system twisting, forming an ephereal head; the mask of Lucifermon, it's piercing red eye taking his overconfidence away in an instant.

"**RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!**"

The blonde pulled back another step, his once demure exterior frightened and confused, _What is he?_

Sengoku investigated with his vein erupted Shuhengan also, freezing in place on his seat, _This chikara… it's mixed in with 'that' energy!_

"This can't be happening! No way, what is that?" Yoshi quizzically inquired to anyone, but all were to entranced; most frozen at the feel of 'that' power again.

The DATS member that had knocked Davis and Mikoto out and sent them to the medical room looked through his mask at the twirling mass of energy.

_Well, it's been a while since I've felt this…, _the Kukisha leered forward in his seat, the dust and air repelled around Tai's feet forming circles of dirt blasting away from his feet.

_It's the power of the Nine Tailed Digital Demon, Lucifermon! _Hyoko realized, uneasy in his seat, _But when did that boy manage to tap willingly into its strength?_

Keenan looked down from the veranda like waiting area, his usual vacant face worn, but his eyes twitching and fully opened in suspense of the hissing crimson energy, recognizing the type of source instantly, _He's…_

Devil Trigger Tai looked up, his eyes natural and brown and his canine teeth still normal, but the energy seemed to twist and turn around him at his command, his face darkened with intent, "Let's see how well I can control this…" _Unbelievable… I feel stronger than I did before with this power!_

"Impossible!" Thomas barked, covering his eyes from the wind and standing woodenly at the faint tremor at the earth beneath him.

"**RRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!**" Tai howled, a red sheen outlining his body and clothes, and a red steam like energy billowing from the sheen, a crimson shroud blowing in the faint wind like smoke, Tai stood firm and rejuvenated, "Here I come!"

Siphoning some of the shroud's power to his feet, Tai twitched, his body completely vanishing with uncanny speed, the dirt where he stood indented from the sudden jet-like take off.

Even the Shuhengan couldn't trace such speed; it was equal to Marcus in the fifth state!

Thomas's blue marked face trembled, his Shuhengan shooting from side to side in search, finally finding him flitting back in view, shuriken in both hands that he threw with a flashy cross chop.

_Too fast! _Thomas realized, twisting on the spot and expelling chikara from his finger-tips, creating the sphere of energy, "_Senkai: Hariken!_"

The shuriken bouncing off as if they had hit a wall, Thomas skilfully grabbed them all in mid-air, stopping his rotation with six shuriken caught, placing three in each arch of his fingers.

"Take this!" he roared up at his opponent, who used the tree technique to cling to the wall, all six shuriken thrown and closing in on him, on hitting the wall as an afterimage faded from sight, _He's so fast he distorts colours I can see?_

Tai phased back in before Thomas's face, his fist barely managing to clip the elder K'rin's collar, demonstrating his threat by tearing it to shreds with his raw strength. Responding, Thomas drew a kunai and leapt a pace back, Tai mimicking him.

The two met eyes for a moment, Tai's overbearingly confident and powerful eyes and Thomas's Shuhengan surrounded by teardrop blue markings from using Senkai.

Throwing their kunai at each other as they skated along the ground, the two blades clashed, twirling in the air as they leapt for them, snapping their palm around the hilts and sliding opposite each other again, the crowd howling with elation at the battle.

"Didn't you call me a loser earlier?" Devil Trigger Tai haughtily spited within his shroud, piercing his caramel eyes through Thomas's rickety frame, the blonde dropping a bead of sweat, "Well, let's see your fancy close combat help you now…"

Tai angrily recalled as he charged head on, a large trail of dirt erecting behind him.

_-_ _Well, it's impossible with that; even an O'rin level technique isn't enough to become Senksha, so what were you thinking? Destiny is unchangeable, just like the fact that you're weaker than me. Senkshas are decided at birth, naturally having great genius afforded, or a renowned Bloodline Trait or natural brimming talent. The only fate that is certain for us all from birth is pain and death…_

"I don't care about the Norstien clan and their hatred of each other! WHAT I CARE ABOUT IS PROVING THAT DESTINY IS SHAPED!" Tai roared, drawing feet away from Thomas.

Gaomon echoed logically in his head, _Sir, use the Hariken now!_

"Oh no!" Thomas snapped, twisting and expelling enough chikara in time to temporarily freeze any advancement, his eyes clashing with Tai's vengeful ones, "_SENKAI: HARIKEN!_"

"WHEN I BECOME SENKSHA, I'LL CHANGE THE NORSTIEN CLAN FOR GOOD!" Tai vowed severely as a blast erupted from the nexus of the energy confliction, a large mushroom of dust circulating in the arena below the stands.

Practically everyone apart from Keenan and the Kukisha stiffened and felt their sweat pour down their faces as the dust slowly rose, the proctor becoming visible again with a rabid cough.

The proctor looked as the dust rose with a fever breeze, revealing a large crater in the earth, two addition crashing craters feet away from both sides where Tai and Thomas were surely repelled to.

There was a feign crumbling at the rim of one of the craters, the whole audience lurching forward to get a better look, Sora and Mimi hopeful that it was Tai with the turnabout victory of… well, of all history!

But that thought quickly fell along with their jaws as Gaomon pulled himself up out of the crater, slapping his hand around like a vice, everyone craning over as Thomas was helped out.

Yoshi exhaled in relief while Thomas tromped over to the other crater with Gaomon in tow, _The Hariken is a technique that twists the energy blasted out to maximise damage and give the ultimate defence. It pushes even chikara back, so I guess Tai got the worst damage. _Her eyes pinpointed at the blonde, his body covered with grazes and dirt, and his breath heavy, _Although, this is the first time anyone has pushed Thomas so far in his Senkai… to actually force him to defuse is impressive._

"Loser… I told you…"

Gaomon straightened up, pointing to the right, "SIR!" he released before his body reduced to smoke.

_I ran out of time? _Thomas realized as he twisted to find another Tai on the far side of the arena beside the shadow of one of the provided trees. Looking back into the crater with disbelief, the body erupted into smoke, revealing itself as a clone.

"_Fire Form, Nova Blast!_" Tai called with a Tiger seal, lurching forward and regurgitating a small blast of fire that forged a small but mighty ball at Thomas.

The blonde barely managed to sidestep the ball, surprised as it burn out before colliding into the wall, through the embers leaping Tai, his fist coiled, _I can't dodge like this!_

Tai still had a little of the Devil Trigger energy left, focusing it in his fist and throwing a hard punch into Thomas's cheek, sending him crashing down into the earth, bouncing twice before remaining quite still.

_I can't move my body…! _He learned, his arms and legs twitching but not responding to his commands; he was laid out flat.

The proctor smiled sincerely at Tai as he landed feet away, _To think that even with the damage he'd received, he planted a clone were he should have been and retreated, waiting for the time to strike… suits him well, by the looks of it._

Thomas grovelled on the ground, straining himself to look up at Tai, "The _Shadow Body Splitting_… of course… it is your best Genina besides that one shot inferno, I should've realized…"

"Oh no, I had another trick up my sleeve," Tai contradicted with an evil looking grin as he leant forward, "but forget about that… my best Genina? You said fate was decided and unchangeable, but look at me. I passed my graduation test after many failures at one Genina; the clone techniques. You've gotta stop with that crap about fate and destiny; you're not a loser like I am, so don't cling to such stupid things."

The proctor stepped forth, "THE WINNER IS… TAICHI KAMIYA!"

His voice echoed in the stagnant silence, everyone rendered moot for a brief second before Sora leapt up in her chair with a cheer, Mimi also in disbelief.

The number one K'rin, the hands on gambling favourite, Thomas H. Norstien had been defeated by Taichi Kamiya, the talentless class clown!

A T'rin beside Sora began clapping his fingerless gloved hands together, an ensemble following him in packets until the entire crowd roared with cheering, Yoshi, Sengoku and Minami the only ones stricken with shock.

"-That was incredible!-"

"-Great fight, short stuff!-"

"-You ain't half bad, kiddo!-"

Tai looked up at the stands above; clapping hands, cheers of elation, RESPECT.

He'd never gotten that from them before, and it wasn't just them; foreigners cheered him on too for the spectacle they had just witnessed taking place.

Living it up to the fullest, Tai blow a kiss up to the stands mockingly, before running around the wall below all three stands and the Sha observation tower, the cheers only building up.

For some reason, Keenan was showing emotion as if the cheers were drills in his ears; his face was miffed beyond all description in the shadow of the waiting terrace.

Sora placidly looked down as he went around, _Tai's getting stronger and stronger… yet I'm still the same as before. I'm kind of jealous; he can work so hard with everyone against him._

She heard two shrewd old women behind her.

"-I guess he wasn't bad…-"

"-But he wasn't all that great either!-"

_Still, it seems you have people still against you; but the fact you would never cave like I would… I'm jealous of you for that, _her eyes veered over to Mimi, noticing her hand had been on her shoulder while she had daydreamed, "Oh, no, it's nothing Strawberry!"

Joe groaned against the terrace railing, "C'mon… you mean to say that Tai wasn't lame like me? I thought that I was safe to fail since he'd do the same! How come he isn't one of the Happy Moron Brigade?"

Izzy cocked a brow at him, "Why are you so attached to that label he gave your Squad so long ago?"

Takato wiped his eyes with his fingers, _That shroud… it was like my Raiten Taiso, but more powerful and sustained. I need to train to the point that I can use it for several minutes in order to get to Tai's level._

Kazu looked down seriously, his toothy grin gone for the moment, _That guy has got some Tekina strength. His punch was as strong as one of my high fives._

Hyoko sweatdropped while feigning an imperial outlook, _To master the energy, no matter how small that portion was, is an amazing feat! Did Satsuma or Kudamon teach it to him?_

The Kukisha's face was cold behind the veil and hat, _So, the child has built up an affinity with Lucifermon. Most interesting._

The proctor pocketed his hands beside Thomas, who was now on a halted stretcher, "Even a trapped bird like you can find freedom from the cage of fate if he keeps pecking his lock, never looking to stay trapped forever. You've lost this time."

Thomas did not rebuke this, the stretcher being taken away to the competitor medical room without much notice taken as the chants of 'TAI' filled the arena, the big haired K'rin heading for the archway to the staircase and onto the terrace above, receiving congratulations from a simpering Joe.

xxx

_**Next Episode: **__Match Dilemma! The Sloth and the Siren of Wind!_

xxx

**A/N: **Tai's biggest battle today has been won, but with Matt on second and still nowhere to be found, what'll happen?

Find out next time!

MATCH ONE: TAICHI KAMIYA vs THOMAS NORSTIEN – TAICHI ADVANCES

MATCH TWO: KEENAN vs YAMATO ISHIDA

MATCH THREE: DAIYO vs IZZY IZUMI *ADDITIONAL BATTLE FOR ADVANCER AGAINST TAKATO MATSUKI IN ROUND TWO

MATCH FOUR: JOE KIDO vs TSUKI

MATCH FIVE: RIKA NONAKA vs KAZU SHIODA


	26. Episode Twenty Six

**A/N: **Well, Joe vs Tsuki, coming up. Expect the brains against the brawn, which seems conspicuously backwards since the brains in male and the brawn is a female character.

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty Six: **__Match Dilemma! The Sloth and the Siren of Wind!_

…

Thomas lay in the medical room, the usual imperious look gone, and his body motionless on the bed while two medical Tamers tended to him.

He had far greater things on his mind.

…

_-"YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT A BURDEN IS PLACED ON MY SHOULDERS!" Thomas roared, stomping his foot forth in rage, "WE'RE BRANDED BY A SYMBOL THAT THREATENS TO KILL US AT THEIR WHIM! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT FEELS LIKE, KNOWING YOU'VE BEEN HATED AND TREATED LIKE A SLAVE SINCE BIRTH!"_

_-"Yeah… I know what that's like alright… If anything, you're the one without a clue. So what if we're hated? Rise above it."_

_-"Well, it's impossible with that; even an O'rin level technique isn't enough to become Senksha, so what were you thinking? Destiny is unchangeable, just like the fact that you're weaker than me. Senkshas are decided at birth, naturally having great genius afforded, or a renowned Bloodline Trait or natural brimming talent. The only fate that is certain for us all from birth is pain and death…"_

_"I don't care about the Norstien clan and their hatred of each other! WHAT I CARE ABOUT IS PROVING THAT DESTINY IS SHAPED!"_

_-The proctor pocketed his hands beside Thomas, who was now on a halted stretcher, "Even a trapped bird like you can find freedom from the cage of fate if he keeps pecking his lock, never looking to stay trapped forever. You've lost this time."_

…

"Ah! Lord Norstien!" one of the medical examiners announced, the door shutting behind the clan head.

Thomas scowled, straining himself as he rose in the bed.

"You two… could you please give us a moment?" he asked wisely, expecting them to leave, which they did, "I need to discuss something with you-,"

"No favours, not for you. Speaking to you crippled my sister and made her a mute, from what I recall." He venomously sneered, "Although I understand why you killed father, why? Why did you feel the need to torture two kids?"

He remained silent, his face looking down ashamedly.

"Well?" Thomas impatiently beckoned.

"I understand your rage… you have every right to despise me… but after learning of what you did to Mikoto, I needed to meet with you." He pathetically released, not looking up, "Although I may not show it to the public, I care deeply for her; she is my flesh and blood, regardless of her talentless nature and gentle personality. I came here to beg you not to hate anyone but me; although I did what was in the regulations and sanctions of the Norstien way of life, I still punished my niece and you, my nephew."

"What was that? You feel SORRY?" he roared, "You should be! Relena was… she was such a small girl, and you crippled her to save your own daughter against her will!"

"Against her will?"

"Are you denying it-?" he was on the verge of actually breaking his rage-ometer.

"Why not ask her yourself?" he abruptly, confusingly said. Moving to the side of the door, he rapped on it with a dull tone, "Minami, please bring her in."

"Yes, father." Her little voice bled through the wood, and when it was open, revealed Thomas's little sister looking suspiciously jubilant in her wheelchair, getting pushed into the centre of the room by the heir.

"What the hell are you doing here-?"

"Hi, big brother."

Impossible! She was a mute this morning when he left, the day before that, and before that…

Thomas frowned, "What is going on here…? Why can she talk? What have you done?"

Sengoku shook his head, "Not a single thing. She's been able to speak all the time. I was about to ask her why she deceived you as well."

Relena sweetly smiled at her brother, the blonde unable of getting off of the bed, "Well… you see… all those years ago, I wasn't crippled against my will; I wanted to save Mikoto, and they needed a volunteer for the transplant of the damage… you remember, right? How she was always sitting alone in the corner of rooms, sniffling because she wasn't allowed outside? Well… at the time, I wanted her to live a little, so I volunteered that night."

"But… why have you not spoken? I thought you were traumatized!" Thomas bellowed at his precious and fragile little sister, "Why didn't you tell me this years ago?!"

Relena frowned, "Because you wouldn't have believed me. You would always take what I say to strongly! If I said I had a cut, you'd act as if I had lost an arm. Your overprotective, and I thought, 'what if big brother hears I lost my dream and my walking'? I was convinced it would be like this; 'they forced her to lie, using the brand she's cursed with! How dare they threaten her more! I'll go and kill them'! Isn't it thinking like that that took daddy away? I didn't want to lose you as well, so acting mute was the only way to stop you overreacting."

"That's irrational thinking on your part," Sengoku intervened, "he still held a needless grudge for all these years, even if it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

Thomas chided, "But, even so! We're bound by fate to our paths! Look at father, he was destined to die, that doesn't mean I would have-!"

"Thomas…" Sengoku weakly said, "Why do you think your father, my brother, decided to renegade against me after being so subservient for all those years?"

"What are you…?"

"I have an unknown illness, big brother. I've had it for all of my life, slowly weakening me," Relena revealed, "That was part of the reason I decided to sacrifice my walking; why not help someone who has their whole life to walk forward, rather than watch them die while I lose it in pain?"

Thomas did not respond, but his face was sharp and distant at once. He could sense where this was going.

"You've been walking backwards, big brother. Please, walk forwards for me."

_-Equality is a false path to follow; every person is inherently judgemental of others to strengthen their moral high ground and not feel like the pathetic weaklings they are. Looks, brains, growth, Bloodline Trait, in this Digital World, everyone is judged on their individual birthrights, creating discrimination and distinction, like the fact that I was born in the lesser house and you were born higher._

_-Fate is not a thing to be played or toyed with, you are merely a child for thinking you could defy it; my sister tried to defy her fate, and she suffered for it._

Thomas shifted his gaze to the window to his left, viewing the finches flapping their wings so freely, _I've been wrong… we aren't placed here to be set on a single, pre-ordained path, are we, mother, father? I promise you… whatever this disease is, I'll cure it, no matter what… if fate truly can be bent and broken, I will cure this new disease for Relena. I'll make sure she can run again!_

oOo

The crowd boomed restlessly, only just now had some of them even sat down from Tai's standing ovation, the boy now a level up from the arena in the viewing terrace with the other remaining competitors.

The Kukisha seemed humorously engaged today, "Seems that they're all registering the magnitude the matches have."

"Well, it was a fabulous match we just witnessed after all," Hyoko concurred in the seat beside him.

"No… that is not what I mean. The second match holds the greatest significance out of them all. All of the Tamer Generals from smaller lands and the Daimyo Lords understand the magnitude of the next battle."

Hyoko focused his eyes on the ground before him, not uttering a word.

"By the way, Lord Senksha… where is he?"

The T'rin overseer beside Hyoko lent in and placed a hand between his mouth and the old man's ear, "That's just the problem," he whispered, "DATS still cannot locate him at all, and with the threat of Bashiori, we're all jumpy and weary… perhaps to avoid a hysterical outcry, we should DQ him now."

Hyoko mulled it over in his seat, the Kukisha supiscious of his thoughts for a moment before the 'outcries' began to shout out for all to hear.

"-WHY IS THE NEXT MATCH NOT STARTING?-"

"-I CAME FROM MILES AWAY TO SEE THE ISHIDA! BRING HIM OUT!-"

"-START THE NEXT MATCH!-"

Mimi had concern plastered on her face, "Where's Matt? Is he not here for his match yet?"

Sora's lip quivered, _Matt… I knew something must have happened…_

Hyoko pondered and mulled deeply in his seat, eventually whispering to his T'rin assistant, "As the rules state, he will be disqualified… it is an unfortunate circumstance."

In the terrace, the competitors grew impatient, Tai and Joe leant against the railing, "Where is he? Is he chickening out or something?" the blue haired boy input.

Glancing across to Keenan, Tai purred silkily under his breath, "You've gotta be joking. Knowing him, he'd crawl here for his fight even if it meant he broke every bone in his body."

Izzy, usually silent, lifted a wise finger in the air, "Or… perhaps this is a mind game, or he's not as foolish as he might seem. You never approach dangerous people without good backing strategy and tactics in case your plans go wrong." _That's double-y true for that sand kid… I had nightmares of that scene for a full week._

oOo

_Keenan looked up at the man with a blank face beneath the straw outcrop of the hat before raising his controlling palm to the shell, "Desert Grave!" he coldly put as he clamped his hand into a fist. _

_The horrific scene became ripe with blood as it rained down from the compressed sand high above, Jirobo crushed beneath the sand, his face splattered with his essence as the sand covered over his face as well, another compression going on beneath as the bloody rain slowed and stopped, the boy behind it throwing his hat away as if nothing had happened._

oOo

Tai was feeling a chill on the side of his face, and upon investigation, found Keenan's black marked eyes contorted in his direction. Caramel met glassy gold for a moment like sparks before Kazu decided to get a better look of the arena, planting himself against the railing between the two, cutting their staring contest short.

_But… where is he? _Tai thought sadly, noticing the crowd beginning to throw trash in the arena, _He should be the same tough guy as before! He wouldn't chicken out from a fight with someone a year younger, even if he was the sand kid!_

Daiyo whispered to his sister, "If he doesn't show, the entire plan will fall in on itself!"

She had equal concern, "What'll we do? I'm nervous enough as it is!"

Torune had a dull look on his face, _He… he wouldn't dare have killed him! He was told how important the Ishida was to the plan! But… that day when he vanished for an hour…_

oOo

"_Where are you going, Keenan?" Torune asked a week before in the hotel room._

_The boy looked back at his sensei with a sullen look of madness in his gaze, "… To reassure people that I do exist…"_

"_What do you mean?" His master asked too late, as Keenan erupted into sand granules and flew out the open window._

…

"_Alright, Matt, just once more and we'll be done for the day." Satsuma encouraged, the rocky terrain around him festooned with large boulders that had strange, hammer like dents in them, each varying in size._

_When he heard a finch flapping away in terror, he pinpointed a singular boulder and calmly deduced the cause._

"_What's wrong?" Matt's voice echoed, his breathing rapid._

_Satsuma strided a few paces to the boulder, "Alright, why don't you come out? You can't hide your bloodlust from me or those birds." When Keenan stepped out, his head down low, the O'rin took a subtle battle stance, "Oh, it's just you…"_

_Keenan clenched his palm…_

oOo

"Lord Senksha, if I may make a respectful request on behalf of our friendly relations," the Kukisha condescended in his own way, "might we wait for the Ishida boy before making a rash choice?"

"Anyone that does not take punctuality over tardiness does not deserve to be T'rin. Unless there is a valid reason to convince the Daimyo and Tamer generals to wait, we should go on without him." The T'rin said sharply.

"Well, if you must know the reason that includes me and the Lords, it is that we travelled all this way to witness the sublime abilities of the Ishida in one of the few left alive. Also, I want to witness my village's strongest K'rin in action against him first hand."

"L-Lord Senksha? What should we do?"

_There is no guarantee that Yamato will even show up… but it cannot be helped in the long haul, _"We shall make an allowance and give him a thirty minute reprieve. Inform the examiner to begin the next match." Hyoko ordered precisely, his eyes darkened as he glared at the Kukisha beside him, "It seems out of place for you to ask so politely, Lord Kukisha. You are thought of as the most rambunctious of us five."

"Not at all. There is no greater challenge to display our fabulous K'rin to potential customers observing the battles than a live, full blooded Ishida. It is a great opportunity for us." He said simply.

"-BRING OUT THE ISHIDA!-"

"-WE WANT TO SEE A FIGHT!-"

The proctor had just had his instructions relayed to him, "ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP! DUE TO A COMPETITOR IN THE NEXT MATCH NOT ARRIVING YET, WE WILL POSTPONE IT FOR A BRIEF PERIOD WHILE WE COMMENCE THE NEXT MATCH EARLY!"

Harima stared up at Hyoko in disbelief, _He's bending the rules? What's that old man got into his head now? _"Just where is Matt anyway?"

Tenma shook her head beside him, "I have no idea, but we're going to have an incident if he doesn't hurry up."

"Well, that's good! Matt won't be disqualified now!" Mimi said with relief, Sora remaining cold and still beside her, eyes glazed dimly.

Tai sighed happily, _Well… he's got time now… that counts for something, right?_

"DAIYO AND IZZY IZUMI! YOU'RE UP!"

The Sandstorm puppeteer felt his innards fall, _My match doesn't have any point… not to mention the fact that I'd have a second additional match if I did win. Not only do I not want to get worn out against a tough guy like him… not to mention the modifications I made to the Widow… and I don't wanna play my hand before the plan begins…, _"I FORFEIT!"

Izzy showed a restrained admonishment, _He what? What's going on here…?_

Takato also showed immense surprise, _Something is wrong with that Sandstorm guy… he looks like he's terrified of something…_

Rika nudged Kazu in the ribs, "That's what you should do if you want to avoid pain."

He smirked back, "Try me, babe."

"Say that again and I'll bury you."

"B-A-B-E."

"I'm so going to enjoy kicking your ass."

Tsuki disrupted this pre-match hyping between fellow villagers by latching onto her giant fan's spine, shaking it forth and revealing all three kanji before swinging it, distorting the air and allowing her to literally glide down atop her fan as if it were a boat on water.

"Lively one, aren't you?" The proctor input as she landed adjacent to him in the arena, taking her starting place, "Right, I guess we'll move on again. IZZY IZUMI ADVANCES, JOE KIDO, YOUR TURN!"

The other combatant looked less than enthralled, reeling away from the railing in thought, _Oh, just great. Another girl… why is it only now I remember that small factor? What am I, woman beater or something? Why couldn't they give me Kazu and let it be chick on chick? I'm not too sure on this now… maybe I should forfeit to._

Tai forcibly nudged him in the back, "C'mon, stop making them wait, buddy!"

That little surprise had enough energy to send Joe for a loop, the blue haired teen pushed into the railing, his legs flailing in the air as he went over, barely managing to flip and land on his feet, back against the wall, facing Tsuki from a distance.

His eyes were glazed like a sloth's, uncaring of the trash being thrown down from the stands, _That jackass Tai… that could've been bad. The crowd looks riled, like they'll riot if I take too long on this fight… I guess they're here to see Matt's match with Keenan, not two side shows like us. There is really no point to this…_

"What, gonna give up and run away?" Tsuki darkly snickered at his entry.

Joe looked her eye to eye, noticing a glint in her eye, _Great… this chick is riled up as well. Why does it have to be a girl anyways? I guess I could take the fact that she's as flat as a surfboard into account and think of her as a weird hybrid… aw, man, Tai's stupidity is contagious; I really am a Happy Moron General now…_

Harima, his sensei, blinked rapidly, _Well, he was never the motivated type, or the self-assured type. What he fails to realize is that he has a certain type of strength far beyond the others, but not in his brawn or combat skills._

"GOOD LUCK, JOE!" echoed Tai's voice among the plethora of more derogatory chants to end it quickly.

"Well, if you won't start, I will!"

Looking back at her, Joe noticed Tsuki going for an all-out charge toward him, raising her close fan like a sword, pulling the heavy metal spine down, _This girl is a spunky one… no, try to call her 'it' and it should be easier… ah, this is why I hate thinking too much, it drags me down._

Slamming it down as intend where Joe was knelt, Tsuki believed him crushed until an odd shadow appeared in her peripheral view above, looking up to find Joe using the wall cling technique with his feet alone, looking rather haughty and confident.

_He's faster than he lets on! I didn't see him move! _She thought nervously, still retaining a cocky smile up at him.

"Y'know, I don't get any pleasure from hurting girls feelings like that Shiori chick, but if it's gotta be done, it's gotta be done… ain't that right," he chuckled audibly so that she could hear, "_Surfboard?"_

Unearthing her well planted fan, Tsuki swung it behind her, swinging it back like a ball on a tether with drastic consequences on the wall where Joe clung too, "_Wind Form, Sickle Air Technique!_" she sharply announced, the slicing wave blasting the dirt and chipping the heavily fortified wall, however the target was gone, _All that talk of men and women and he runs?_

Joe had hidden himself in the brambles of the nearby tree, his face deeply focused, _Even if I discount the fact that she's got the chest of a man at her age, I still can't fight! She's still a girl… wait, maybe doing 'that' would spare embarrassment, win me the match and keep my pride in check! _Performing the summoning seals, he softly placed his palm on the bark of the tree, the smoke hidden among Tsuki's hair raising assault from before.

"Yo, Joe! How's it going?" A small amphibian, gopher and dog… thing of a Digimon happily inclined, a usual trait for a Gomamon; always loud and rowdy, "It's been a while! You usually give up before thinking of calling me… what gives? Do I smell or somethin'?"

Up in the stands, Mimi was unstoppable and loud, thrusting her fist into the air with a giddy look on her face, "GET HER JOE! HIT HER WITH A SUPER SECRET COMBO AND TAKE THAT BITCH DOWN!"

"May I have this seat?"

Looking to her left, Mimi spotted JP on the bleachers steps, a bag filled with treats like gummy bears and potato chips and the like dangling deftly from his tensed arm, "How much food do you have with you? Honestly!"

"Whatever," he snapped sharply, sitting in the free seat beside her, "Joe's match? I thought he was on fourth. Are all of the guys wimps? I mean, I didn't exactly expect much from Matt and Tai."

_Crap, _she hastily reacted, jabbing his side and pivoting to Sora, who had a dark cloud looming over her head, "Hey, I'm sure he's alright! Besides, why aren't you happier, Tai won against the number one K'rin!" But she was left ignored, _Maybe she needs time or something?_

Down on the battleground, Tsuki presented her fully opened fan before her like a shield, scanning the local area for where Joe might have gone, _Alright, he's a long range tactician type Tamer with a dull personality, meaning he won't do make it or break it moves… in addition, he has the shadows as his ally, meaning he'll be sticking to the trees, where the shadows are large and he'll have cover from my wind attacks… just keep sharp and it'll all fall into place. _

At the base of the tree following a careful descent, Joe knelt and galvanized to Gomamon, "… And if the research I did on this arena is anything to go by, you'll find it untapped a little ways underground." _Since my opponent's a girl, this is the only way to spare her some dignity._

"You got it!" Gomamon (uncharacteristically) whispered back, using his long, sharp claws to rapidly dig into the earth, vanishing into a small hole as he went.

JP looked directly down at the tree where Joe was, as if led by some Esper link to his friend, "How weird… out of all of us on Squad Ten, he is the smartest, but he's not motivated… how he got into the finals is strange. I give him five minutes, TOPS, before he gets bored and quits."

Mimi hit him in the arm again as he tucked into a bag of potato chips, "Don't say that! Sure, he doesn't have really effective techniques, but he's really sharp! He got us past traps and ambushes, and even turned them on our enemies!"

"Whatever… five minutes. He thinks things like this are a hassle."

"He will not quit in five minutes! You should have seen how he did a flip down into the arena! He's really driven today!" she shot up in her seat, "GO, JOE!"

Joe stepped out from the tree into full view, his hands on his head lazily, his expression bored, _Man… the only reason I became a Tamer was because it would keep me interested in life… but all this hassle, is it really worth it?_

_Is he taunting me? _Tsuki violently flushed in anger, swinging her fan back and forth, summoning a powerful blast of air toward her foe, "_Wind Form, Bleeding Force!"_

Joe shielded his eyes, feeling small pricks against his arms and exposed skin, small tears forming on his clothes as the _Bleeding Force _torrent blasted back into the stands, many shielding their eyes from the frosty air blast.

Yoshi did not avert her eyes to the wind, but scowled at it, _This is the power she used to stop my weapons with that other technique!_

_-Slamming the two down, the scrolls stood on the roller base at each end while Yoshi encrypted the hand seals Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Hare and Serpent, clapping her hands together as if in prayer, "Generic Summoning; Thunderclap!"_

_Smoke burst from the two scrolls, the smoke billowing and forming two dragon head, encircling each other like the twin snakes in the air, the smoke blasting off to reveal Yoshi high in the air with two scrolls wrapping around her in a spiral, the same weapon rain falling in double the rate and twice the speed as Yoshi even used her feet (gripping with chikara) to throw weapons._

_-Tsuki smirked once more, flapping her fan out to the second kanji, now on 'BREEZE, TORRENT' and pending a third, her wind power seemingly improved many times over by a single swipe, deflecting all of the weapons again to the floor with a clanging finality, the scrolls falling on the tiles as well, Yoshi still in the air, flipping to a gymnast like upside down pose, striking and clenching her fingers, tugging wires tied to the tips and pulling the weapons out on the tiles they were planted in._

_-The weapons soared and halted in mid-air, Yoshi swiping like she had claws with the wires, all of them going for one make it or break it run. Unfortunately, another slash through the air with the two kanji fan tore through this barrage and blew Yoshi back, the girl slamming on the tiled floor, scraping against some of her grounded shuriken before regaining her stance."_

_-Now it's my turn," Tsuki sniggered darkly, Yoshi grimacing as the Sandstorm thrust the fan out, revealing 'SQUALL'. Pulling it up by the top and grabbing the fan, Tsuki's face contorted with effort as she cut through the air with the fan as if it were thick oil, "Wind Form, Sickle Air Technique!"_

_-Yoshi had no chance, the air catching her like a blast and encompassing her body, lifting her in the air around ten feet, the helpless girl being slashed from all over, unable to call for help or scream with the thick air density around her._

The chips and cracks in the wall released some ancient dust and dirt in one blast from the wall, Tsuki scanning the cloud carefully, her heart tugged by sudden fear at the small, black line of shadow shooting at high speed toward her.

Flipping back multiple times, she noted the shadow thinning out and eventually stopping on the fifth flip, the girl slashing the dirt with her fan, cordoning off the shadow's length before it stopped, "I see! I understand the _Shadow Mimicry _now!"

_That's right… _Joe thought with a blank face.

"It's only extending your own shadow's surface area, meaning it is limited to the size of your own shadow! No matter how thin it is, how long you make it, it has the limits since it has to be connected to your body still. Am I right?"

"Bullseye…"

Tsuki went on to analyse like a very articulate supercomputer in her thoughts, _In other words, based on where he launched his shadow at the farthest side of the stadium, in addition to the possibility he garnered greater length with the wall's own shadow, which would mean that the distance his shadow has from his body to the end of the wall shadow is the extra length, an if that's the case, his maximum range is, _she traced the shadow with her eyes to the end of the wall shadow, _around fifteen metres thirty._

Daiyo noticed the look on his sister's face; confident, _She's marked the range that shadow possession can extend, meaning she can assault from afar and be safe. Tsuki's even better at long range than she is in close combat; that's what makes her Wind Form techniques so dangerous, they can attack and defend equally, both at a distance and close up._

Joe looked at her and noticed it as well; he was astute when it came to analysis. Responding, he knelt down at the wall, placing one hand before his chest in a half prayer gesture, the other placed below the hand in a fist, the meeting points of his thumb and index finger the rest.

Tenma didn't understand, "What is that? A unique seal or something?" she asked the O'rin beside her.

Harima was smoking, puffing out a large ball and smirking as it dissipated, "No… it's one of these habits of his; mind over matter, if you catch my drift. Like an old man, he will tactically think through the scenario, which is why he plays games his old man does like Shogi and Go. I've never won against him in a game, because every time he's in a tight spot, he does that habit, and figures it out; how to unravel the enemy and their possible moves, piece by piece like a dissection. He's a shrewd thinker."

"Shrewd?" Tenma scoffed, waving it off, "I saw his papers, he barely got a passing grade; he was nearly as low down as Tai in the K'rin exam in the school, wasn't he? Besides, this is a battle, he won't have the time for ten minutes of thinking."

"Ten?" he chuckled, "He needs only ten _seconds _to plan it all out. I thought it strange too, that someone supposedly dim was an excellent tactic game player, so one day, I disguised an IQ test as a game we were playing."

"And how was it?" she asked, bated.

"We had it pegged wrong. He must've been too dismally bored to even pick up his pen; that boy ended the IQ test with a result just over two hundred points."

Tenma gasped, "That boy has an IQ of two hundred? But that's greater than most O'rin!" _Greater than me by nearly fifty points! I'm sure even in his hayday, the Senksha would've struggled to gain that IQ, but a mere K'rin already has this intelligence level? Unbelievable!_

Harima got goosebumps when Joe's eyes shot open and he dropped the habitual pose, _He's finished! Here he comes!_

Joe reached in his pouch, grasping a tightly gripped kunai and feigning a serene look on his face as he threw it, slapping his hands into a Ram seal, "_Shadow Mimicry!_"

Tsuki saw what he was doing, following the shadow of the kunai to extend it, so she leapt back in a back flip, slashing through the air as she landed and deflecting the kunai, the shadow retracting instantly without it's catalyst.

"_Wind Form, Sickle Air Technique!_" she roared, unfettered by the sudden enthusiasm in Joe's assault, the wind blasting against the trees and widening the thick cracks in the wall, the boy himself hidden behind the tree trunk.

Joe wrapped his sweaty palm around another kunai as another blast against the trunk made a horrific crack sound; she was butchering it, _Alright, the five minutes should be over in around thirteen seconds, meaning Gomamon's little expedition should bear fruit._

Thirteen seconds later, as the wind blast died away and the howling jeers came back audibly, Joe smirked as the ground beside Tsuki cracked, the girl stunned out of her wits and the crowd stunned equally.

Leaping carefully back, Tsuki stayed away from the shadow's reach, _What? What is this, he's just a shadow user, isn't he?_

"_Marching... Fishes!_" she heard muffle through the cracks in the dirt, the unearthing and smashing sound giving way to dirt soaring through the air, propelled by a torrent of water that came up like a rainbow, curling down toward Tsuki from the hole with several fishes at the forefront like a missile.

_Everyone's surprised… no wonder, I'm the only one that researched the stadium and found out about the small, ancient water vein beneath the arena, _Joe snickered, forming the Ram seal.

Tsuki was unsure and confused, but she sidestepped the festoon of fishes coming at her in the small jet of water that came down, the fishes crashing into the earth. It was a few seconds before she saw the shadow coming at the edge of her sight, forcing her to retreat from it again, once more slashing the dirt as an indicator.

"I don't know what he did, but he will not manage that again!" Tsuki flushed in rage, opening her fan fully, slamming it down and concealing herself behind it, performing the summoning seals, _Now, this'll end it quickly! _"_Summoning Technique!_"

But before she could slap her palm down, she found herself stuck in place, paralysed.

"I-IMPOSSIBLE! I'M OUT OF HIS RANGE!"

Mimi and JP were confounded and amazed by his ingenuity, while Tai was asking the naturally withdrawn Izzy (futilely) how he'd managed it.

Keenan seemed to understand and, dare it be said, impressed in his stone like face.

Daiyo was less impressed, "How in the-? He thought that far ahead all of this time?"

Tenma was dumbfounded, "He… how many moves was he putting into action there? Two have succeeded!"

"I told you, he's a super genius. When he has no other alternative but trying, you have no chance in battle tactics."

"Shadow capture, complete." Joe proclaimed proudly as he undid Tsuki's hands from the seal they were in before summoning with his own hands.

"But how? I was so careful!" she complained, twitching futilely in resistance.

"Wanna see? I won't stop you." Joe chirped, turning his head over his shoulder to show her, the girl astounded by the creature behind her.

Gomamon had surfaced silently behind her, the amphibious dog Digimon waving his claw at her, waist deep in the small hole he had made. Protruding from the edge of that hole was a thick black strip to her shadow.

"And also, if he had failed somehow…" Joe added, adjusting his head a little more to the side.

In the water that had leaked from the water vein deep beneath the arena was another strip, thinner than the other, leading to her from the side as well. It had been elongated in the water by the kunai Joe so tensely held before, as he had tossed it as a shadow catalyst when she dodged the oncoming shadow.

He felt very proud and big as he turned his head back to Tsuki, noticing the girl's trembling form and contradicting sneer, "What? I never said I couldn't split the shadow into _multiple _shadow extensions. That was your miscalculation; you need to research the facts of a battle carefully, and never let go of a possibility like that."

Tsuki held a strong sneer, "Then… how did you get to me from this hole?"

"I told Gomamon that if he succeeded in using the fish in the water vein, he should dig another hole from a few feet in so you couldn't see it behind you. My shadow can't be stopped by water pressure. After that, the shadows in the tunnel he made created a strong shadow catalyst. Even if you had seen him or heard him, I had another shadow converging on you as a last resort."

She felt dishonoured in a strange sense, as her intelligence was a source of pride, _This slacker… out-smarted ME? _"But wait, water veins don't have fish in them!"

"This is the Digital World, meaning the physics from the Old one don't apply here. That vein is ancient, and after I researched it, I found out that it connected the Gates Sea and the Digital Ocean through the Land of Embers, meaning fish travelled through it frequently. It was just a hunch, but it seems that they still do."

"Hey, Joe! I don't know what humans look like completely," Gomamon called behind Tsuki, his head up, "but this girl has white where her legs meet, is that bad?"

Harima slapped his head, "That's a reason he never really calls Gomamon, he's too obnoxious, a total mismatch for a partner that thinks before acting!"

Blushing rather girlishly, Tsuki contorted her face, as she was unable to look back at Gomamon, but Joe looked at him, "Please… just go home before people make a big deal out of this…"

"Whatever you say, Joe!" he saluted, bursting into smoke and vanishing from the hole.

The girl suddenly lurched forward, struggling against the fact that Joe was walking to the centre and she had to do the same, _A perverted otter and a genius slacker… why me?_

Hyoko hummed in his seat as the two linked competitors stood in the centre, slowly raising their hands, _A dark horse if I've ever seen one… I must admit, I never imagined this particular K'rin graduate would amount to this._

"DO IT, JOE!" Tai called out, surprised at the genius work on display, and the fact that the Happy Moron Brigade General was going to win.

The leader of the Brigade (Squad Ten), Mimi, shot up in her seat, "YOU CAN DO IT, JOE!"

JP munched on more potato chips slowly (his third bag), _It's been five minute now…_

Joe pondered for a moment before victory, before opening his eyes halfway and shocking everybody that had begun to appreciate his efforts, "I quit. She wins."

Tai and Mimi felt themselves hollow out, an eastern bound breeze almost made a melody as the pink haired girl simpered, "He… gives… up?"

JP grew a broad smile from ear to ear, "I told you, Mimi. He's my best friend, so I know him better than you."

Tsuki should have been jovial, even jubilant, but only one thing escaped her lip, "W-what did you say? Are you mocking me?"

"Why mock the defeated? It's rather simple, girly. I GIVE UP." He went on to explain, "The constant use of the _Shadow Mimicry _is tiresome, and I'm very lazy. Splitting the shadow and focusing enough to manage both drained what little chikara I had left. I only have five seconds before your free and I'm out of juice, so why risk getting half way through beating you if you'll attack me with no resistance? It's better to retreat in combat or quit in such cases."

_Strangely shrewd and mellow, isn't he… _the proctor happily thought, raising his hand toward Tsuki as the shadow came undone and retreated, "THE WINNER IS TSUKI!"

The winner could only stare blankly for a few seconds at Joe, amazed at how he could quit after coming so close and just rub his shoulders afterward, _…Interesting guy…_

Mimi howled like a wild, ferel beast in her seat, "THAT IDIOT!" In her rage, she clasped JP's muffler and began shaking him, the smile on his face not wavering, "WHAT IS WORNG WITH HIM? DOESN'T HE WANT TO BE A T'RIN?"

Tenma seemed deposed as well, _While he might not be motivated, he has the intelligence that would make him an extraordinary leader. A four man intel team would have stolen the information without a hitch if he led them. It's like he won the war, but lost a simple battle along the way here._

His teacher looked down sullenly, _His lazy nature may hold him back, along with a certain rambunctious amphibian, but Joe has the mental make-up of a true T'rin! While he had victory in his grasp, he scaled the fact that he would run out of steam and the fact she would attack in and gave up to spare unnecessary damage. Out of all the K'rin, he is without a doubt the best kid for the job! On a mission, you cannot come back after completing it and say your squad was wiped out because you went with your gut. That is why Thomas and Tai would have failed; attrition is practically a non-factor on the real field of Tamers._

Tai scaled over the railing, a flash anger on his face as he clambered over and leapt down, "I'll show that idiot! How stupid can he be?"

Izzy weakly said after him, "A lecture is meaningless to the other party when they performed better than you."

Landing, Tai ran up to Joe and thrust a finger accusingly into his face, "YOU REALLY ARE A GENERAL OF THE HAPPY MORON BRIGADE, AREN'T YA?!"

"Be quiet you drooling Neanderthal. You're calling me a moron and I bet you don't even realize what I called you!

The truth burned, "Shut up! Why'd you quit!?"

"Why do you think? The sooner my match and the next one goes, we get to see Mr. Perfect perform… oh brother…"

Tai flickered with joy at this, _That's right! After the next match it's Matt and the sand kid!_

Sora darted her head from side to side, ignoring Joe's compatriots ripping on him, _I can't see him! I knew it, he's not here yet! Something bad must've happened…_

oOo

At the main entrance, two guards stood in the uniforms of O'rin, surprised by the two that approached them, "Ah! Spencer-sensei! Marcus as well! Welcome to the final examinations!"

Spencer stood proudly beside his son, who wore a hospital gown and pants, supporting his left side with a crutch before the steps.

"Let's go, Marcus!" his father and teacher dictated, pointing to the large archway inside.

"Right!"

"But, it is a shame," one of the guard sighed, "you will only get to see the Hidden Storm battle and the Ishida against the Sandstorm kid. All the others have been decided for the first round."

Marcus twigged to this, leaning on his crutch nervously, "Then, the Tai and Thomas match? Who won?"

The guard laughed, "It was a shocker! I never expected that kid to be capable of fighting equally with a Norstien, let alone defeat him!"

Spencer and Marcus's jaws fell, their mouths gaping like black holes and sweat leaking through their pores, "Y-you mean out Thomas was defeated by that loudmouth of Satsuma's?" _Is that even possible in fantasy? I'm gonna give it a try! _He thought, closing his eyes tightly.

Contrary to his father, Marcus pulled himself together, a perfunctory look of both sweet happiness and sadness on his face, "I see…" Tai's visage flashed before his eyes, _Amazing…_

_-Tai, I know how it feels; he is a merciless piece of work; that much is true. But he is also one of the elites, and is best saved to taste a loss in a match. It could be you or me, but either way, as long as he experiences defeat, that is fine._

_You did it, Tai! _Marcus grew a crescent smile at the fulfilled promise he had recalled.

Spencer looked proudly down at his son, _What a guy you are…_

oOo

The proctor raised both hands like scales, on one side was Kazu, on the other was Rika, "THE NEXT MATCH, RIKA NONOKA AND KAZU SHIODA, WILL NOW COMMENCE!"

xxx

_**Next Episode: **__Prodigy of the Storm! Raijin!_

xxx

**A/N: **Next time, the quick paced battle between Kazu and the temptress herself, Rika, will commence! Can Kazu stop gawking long enough to fight, or will Rika make good on her promise to bury him?

Find out, next time!

MATCH ONE: TAICHI KAMIYA vs THOMAS NORSTIEN – TAICHI ADVANCES

MATCH TWO: KEENAN vs YAMATO ISHIDA – THIRTY MINUTE REPRIEVE

MATCH THREE: DAIYO vs IZZY IZUMI *ADDITIONAL BATTLE FOR ADVANCER AGAINST TAKATO MATSUKI IN ROUND TWO – DAIYO FORFEITS

MATCH FOUR: JOE KIDO vs TSUKI – JOE FORFEITS

MATCH FIVE: RIKA NONAKA vs KAZU SHIODA


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**A/N: **I thought college would be a drag, but seriously!

I see Shikamaru's point now, sheesh! I've changed the layout of the chapter I had in reserve, along with the title, as it happens.

…

_**Digimon, Hurricane Chronicles**_

_**Chapter Twenty Seven: Kicking it Up**_

…

"Wow." Was all Joe had to offer. Down in the arena, a flashy, lightning fast match had ended suddenly.

Rika lay unconscious on the ground, Kazu stood nearby. His palm strike combined with the electric voltage proved to be beneficial in this match. Although only two minutes long, it was a great battle in the trained eyes of Tamers.

Cheers and clapping rapped from around the bleachers, Kazu declared victorious in the battle before he left with the medical team, overseeing Rika on the stretcher. She may have won if he'd allowed her to call Renamon, but that was forgotten. He had won.

The thunderous cheers commending the Storms performance provided good cover for Daiyo's unsettled voice.

"What if the Ishida really isn't going to be here?" he whispered toward Tsuki.

She was equally as unsettled, "Well… they might not find an opening and we'll leave-,"

"He shall come. It's in his nature."

Keenan's dark voice betrayed his youthful appearance, his arms crossed tightly in a knot. Daiyo and Tsuki dreaded trying to reason with him, so they retained their silence.

Across from them, leaning on the metal banister, Joe and Tai stared at each other.

"Where's your teammate?" Joe asked eventually, "There's no way to get out of it now. He needs to get here. NOW."

Tai looked across to Sora's distant seat, seeing a feeble slouch in her posture, "He has to be here. I won't let it slide if he's off hiding in a hole."

"Weren't you just saying he'd drag himself here?"

"That was before, when he had time."

Tai was fully serious. This was intolerable. How could Matt leave Squad Seven hanging like this; where was that legendary pride in his Ishida heritage, the confidence in those scolding, fervent Surugan eyes of his?

Tai was pulled from that train of thought.

The hairs on his exposed arms began to stand on end, and a chilly, almost unnerving wind began to blow… outward from the centre of the arena.

Upon a sudden, that small artificial wind became a full blown gale, the wind almost fleeing from two shadow engulfed figures, back to back, that appeared with an immense pressure about each of them.

In all honesty, the pressure both baffled and terrified crowds as they shielded their eyes.

Slowly, it died away, the two figures coming into focus, the crowd gaping at the blonde K'rin and his sensei.

The black, smart cut and the broad shoulders revealed without Kudamon napping on them belonged to Satsuma, his trench coat making its return. As the tail of the coat returned down after the wind quelled, it revealed quite a different Yamato 'Matt' Ishida.

The blonde seemed to have longer blonde spikes, almost beginning to descend into curtains over his blazing blue eyes. He wore a black clothed, rather haggard Terra headband. But he also sported a new outfit. A black, large collared shirt dangling over matching shorts, bandages wrapped around his thighs and all of his arms, some belt apparatus at his right wrist.

"Sorry we're late." Satsuma strongly implied, his face remaining rather stoic.

The proctor merely smirked, "Your name, kid?"

Matt looked at him, eyes narrow and ablaze, "Yamato Ishida."

_Matt! _Sora suddenly perked up, looking much more alive than a few seconds previously. She upheld a powerful, relieved smile.

Joe looked down upon the blonde.

Even he held a snicker, _What a guy… main eventer can't even get here early._

Up on the Sha Observatory Tower, hiding it from Hyoko, the cloth covered face of the Kukisha contorted evilly… was he smiling beneath the rag?

Keenan, although eternally placid, had a glint in his eye.

One of dark, battle-lusting ferocity.

"Is that really him?" Mimi questioned, rubbing her eyes in disbelief at the change she was seeing. Sure enough, it was not an apparition or a ghost; her crush was there, and dare she say it, he looked better than ever.

JP was rather indifferent to this salient development. All he showed was a lust for his potato chips, the one match he wanted to watch (Joe's) over and done with.

"So, Matt made it!" a delighted and rather gruff voice input behind the line of seated K'rin. They turned to Spencer and his hobbling son.

Marcus, ever the energy freak, seemed unfazed by stumbling on a crutch down the bleacher steps. Only a winning smile showed as he saw Matt, ready for his battle with Keenan.

Tai was equally ecstatic, barely restraining himself from jumping up and down. Once Matt beat Keenan, his time to show his metal against the legendary Ishidas would come.

Satsuma looked up to the competitor area above and noticed Tai looking rather tired and caked in scrapes and dirt with the occasional tear in his clothing. He also took, with amazement, Thomas's absence.

A quick conference of a glance with the proctor told him it all. He smiled broadly at his student's victory. He had expected to arrive and miss Matt's match while attending the infirmary. By even greater shock, he took in Kudamon and Agumon's absence.

Realizing that they were not called, Tai's victory suddenly seemed a lot less daunting, as if he were on equal footing, _alone_, with Thomas all along.

_Maybe Matt will have trouble, even with his and Gabumon's little parlour trick…, _he understood, having processed all information in an instant, "Matt, it seems Tai has advanced. Try not to break the streak."

Matt grunted at the info. "Whatever you say."

But in truth, every bone in his body juddered in pure excitement. The T'rin Exams final round had gone in Squad Seven's favour after all.

Keenan's dark look steeled, and he strained to form an evil look of glee, "See… he came."

Tsuki and Daiyo gulped. His voice was laced with so much menace… he was giving way to the beast again.

Matt simply glanced up at Keenan, the nervous shudder he felt weeks ago when he had first met him gone. He was calm, collected and rather cool about the task at hand as the Sandstorm pre-teen began to drag his feet toward the steps down like they weighed eight tonnes.

…

"Matt is so~ awesome!" Mimi practically squealed, a red shade on her cheeks.

JP looked at his teammate starkly, _And to think she was all riled up about Joe before… all his hard work, forgotten in an instant. Poor guy._

Questions, a tad loud and overzealous, raged in the crowd stands.

"IS THAT THE ISHIDA?"

"IT MUST BE! KICK SOME ASS, BOY!"

"DON'T LOSE TO THE SANDSTORM SPOOK!"

Mimi turned to find a brighter Sora beside her, "Your team is actually pretty awesome! Who would've thought that Tai would beat someone like Thomas!"

Marcus visibly tensed, his eyes shadowing.

"Marcus," Spencer whispered to himself, noticing a trembling in both of his son's shoulders.

_Matt fights the kid I couldn't beat with such confidence, _Marcus grimly realized, _and Tai defeated Thomas, who I have lost to for years now…, _his grip on the crutch tightened like a vice, _I feel like such a failure!_

…

"Alright, Keenan," Daiyo finally plucked up the courage, "about the plan, you do realize we're in enemy territory-!"

A hand slapped over his mouth, silencing him. Tsuki sweated visibly and looked back at Daiyo, "Don't! Idiot, look at him! He doesn't realize where he even is anymore!"

She was right. The hell of it was, Daiyo could see his adopted little brother from mere feet away, and yet it seemed like sheer miles.

Keenan's raven bangs had shadowed his features, but a devilish smile smouldered on his face, his brows arched so intently that the veins busy pumping his blood rapidly could be seen.

Keenan's sluggish walking began to hasten toward the step as his name was summoned in the arena, Tai and Joe jolting up straight as the cold aura slowly passed on by them like winter. Heavy steps made their way down onto the arena soil, Keenan's face still manic.

xxx

After a moment, he was stood in the centre, face to face with his blond prey, both with dark, engaged looks. The proctor almost felt as if hell had frozen over from the powerful pressures about the both of them.

But he eyed the younger of the two carefully. He felt a great inner pressure and strength… but it felt… rather devoid and empty. He couldn't place the grisly sensation.

Regarding both, he cut down the middle, "YOU MAY BEGIN!"

The heavy looking gourd spurt its plug, the sand coming out in droves and forming a small wave behind Keenan's head as Matt retreated three steps.

The blond made sufficient that he could easily dodge at a moment's notice, _So that's the sand Satsuma mentioned during training. Still hard to believe that even he's never seen anything like it; I've never even heard about Genina involving sand before._

The ten year old began to unfurl his crossed arms when suddenly he grasped at his head, the sand swinging erratically behind him. This did not pass by Matt, who held up his guard and observed.

"N-no!" the boy's voice was practically non-existent, "F-forgive me… I know you want to fight again, but… now I need to fight…"

And like that, he looked up, apparently back in control. His face was slick with a coat of sweat and he was panting heavily.

Matt simply snorted, _The hell was that? This kid's got issues if he's talking to himself._

"Come." Keenan ordered in a violent, almost bestial tone. His delirium had passed, and the sand began shifting like a cloud as he readied (he crossed his arms like he did against Marcus).

Matt tensed, grasping into his thigh shuriken holster and throwing three in a rapid succession. As he expected, sand actively slapped the weapons away, almost as if the cloud developed an arm.

Running hastily at him, Matt tested the sand's density for himself, delivering a quick rabbit punch as he went for Keenan's body, a hard, almost finger breaking resistance parrying him.

The next moment was much like Marcus's efforts reincarnate, swift blows attempting penetration, but the sand holding its ground and trying to catch the slightly quicker assailant, his blonde hair waving so much he looked like a thunder bolt with quick and efficient movements.

Up in the bleachers, where Satsuma had joined the gang and stood beside Spencer, Sora sat on the edge of her seat, pale as a ghost.

_W-what if that freaky mark take's over? _She frantically, frightfully, thought, "S-sensei… about Matt's neck, is the mark-?"

"It's fine. Trust me."

His quick response made her at least hopeful as she watched Matt pound the sand shield.

Mimi looked at the pair suspiciously, _A mark?_

A loud bash pulled them back, Matt beginning to look annoyed by the sheer magnitude of the shield's protective factor. Deciding to try going past it, he ducked beneath the wave of sand and spun on his heel, fist now mere inches from Keenan's face.

Sand shot up like a spike from beneath the pair, to which Matt smirked overbearingly.

Twisting on his heel, the blonde seemed to vanish with a jet like screech.

He phased in behind Keenan (still processing his disappearance) and held his fist high for a downward strike.

The jet like screech on the ground vanished as a fist cracked Keenan's face, _He's fast… like that other guy!_

The sand shroud blasted to cushion Keenan's fall. He looked up, calm rage in his golden eyes as chips of his sand armour broke off.

Matt smugly assumed Marcus's martial arts pose, "So that's your armour, is it? Pretty flimsy, to put it lightly."

The Sandstorm K'rin merely stood back up, a foul look in his eyes. He could actually have mistaken the blonde for Marcus without a second glance.

Spencer was flabbergasted by what he'd just observed, _His speed and momentum strength are about equal to Marcus's without activating the States!_

Marcus's heart sank. He rally had fallen behind, _One month… to equal my speed I worked tirelessly for ever since training with dad? There's no way, even his martial arts stance is flawless!_

Matt felt a burning fire in the pit of his stomach now, gesturing for Keenan to continue, "Come on, kid."

Furious, the sand blasted like a group of lancers, spikes protruding and stabbing the ground as Matt's incredible speed overcame the obstacle at hand, and with his flashy speed, he swiftly bypassed the sand and kicked Keenan in the face, chips falling off.

"What's the matter, Keenan?" Matt snickered, pulling his leg back from what must have been the tenth straight blow. He had to admit, that armour held on for dear life, alright. "I'm going… to tear off every piece of that armour!"

Before Keenan's eyebrows could fully fall into a scowl, a black sandal once again bombarded him, a surging force pushing him back, only for Matt to tug him into a knee in his gut, drawing a gasp for air.

Marcus watched as several more punishing blows were dealt, admiring Matt's proclivity for being wary of the sand; something he himself had failed to maintain in his lost battle with Keenan.

Finally, a gut kick sent Keenan soaring five feet back into his sand bed, the cracks beginning to reform like a liquid while Matt panted heavily.

The young Damon K'rin latched onto this, _I see… he uses up too much stamina and chikara with such a relentless assault._

Daiyo and Tsuki were aghast at the scene, _He's in trouble!?_

Back up in the bleachers, Spencer softly asked, "What did you two do? To come this far in such a short span of time…"

Satsuma's broad smile curled proudly, "Using his Surugan, I had Matt mimic Marcus's Tekina prowess. All that you're seeing him do would not have been possible if he had not lost to Marcus. It was a heap of work, I'll tell you. But he and Gabumon managed to achieve greatness in our training."

Spencer's eyes widened, _He can't… possibly mean that a mere K'rin… But, Satsuma has to realize that Yamato is merely a second rate copy of the original, and Tekina only got Marcus so far. Keenan can't be beaten by Tekina alone, so why did he bother on stamina and endurance so much?_

Keenan apparently grew weary of this cycle, adopting a Tiger seal with ferocious golden eyes bleeding through the shadow cast by his erratic sand, which slowly formed a dome around his body, the peerless gold eyes fading beneath the shield.

"So, he wants to hide, does he?" Matt snarled as he forged several seals in rapid succession, slapping the ground and summoning smoke, "_Summoning Technique!_"

Gabumon sprung into existence beside Matt, looking noticeably tougher and toned beneath his fur coat than before.

"Gabumon, time to show our first trump card!" Matt declared, retrieving his Digivice from his pouch and presenting it, a metallic blue light engulfing his hand and beginning to cover Gabumon with a complimentary shell of energy.

The shape within the shell drastically changed; at first, it shaped into a quadruped wolf creature (Garurumon) but then it stood on hind legs, all kinds of clanking occurring as several spiked and torn clothing materialized on the creature, the shell of energy fading.

"WereGarurumon!" he announced, the creature emerging as a brash, tall and rather outlandish warrior. He was true to his moniker as a werewolf, standing on hind legs in tattered jeans and spiked accessories with a multitude of scar tissue lining his furred body clearly.

Hyoko looked on in surprise, "Amazing… an Ultimate level evolution at his young age?"

"Marvellous," the Kukisha hissed delightedly.

The duo proceeded to bombard the shell without conversing, finding it to be rather durable and tightly packed, not even a dent getting through. Thanks to Matt's Surugan connection, they plotted out ways to try and bust through the sand while dodging the pillars that shot out in defence.

"Matt, stay away!" WereGarurumon warned, leaping high with his arms outstretched. He came down and slashed onto the shell, "_Wolf Claw!_"

His husky voice echoed, a small shine coming off of his nails as the sand held against the slash attack. The werewolf pulled back beside Matt as another pillar appeared and quickly receded.

_Matt, that thing is definitely hard! _He thought telepathically to the blonde, _There is no way we can break through without tiring out!_

Usually an Ultimate level Digimon proclaiming impossibilities would be worrying. But Matt merely held a winning smile.

"That's fine," he replied, _Because our technique… also takes a little time, right?_

"It does."

Daiyo didn't care about the pair, but was terrified by that shell. It always came before…, "Keenan, please stay calm! You don't have to release that thing here!"

Keenan's voice muffled within the dome, voicing openly the zodiacs of his hand seals in sequence.

Matt and WereGarurumon sprang back, leaping high and skidding on the wall like it was the ground. Matt clung with his chikara grip while his partner stuck his feet tightly on the wall, the pure muscle keeping him up as if he were a parrot in a cage.

Matt began to formulate the seals Monkey, Dragon, Rat, Bird, Ox, Snake, Dog, Tiger and Monkey, placing his right hand, openly clenched, beneath him while gripping his right wrist. He began growling lowly in focus as a small surging sound began to form in his hand.

Tsuki kept eyes on Keenan's dome, "Hey, what's he think he's doing? The plan depends on him! Should we make a run for it?"

Daiyo looked like he wanted to comply, sincerely.

Whilst every other competitor was overcome with cheers for the 'big technique' atmosphere, Izzy had twigged onto that, _What did she mean by 'plan'?_

_WereGarurumon, get ready! We'll attack with this and Wolf Claw at once! _Matt said telepathically, his right, upturned palm alight with a metallic blue energy, flickering with jolting electrical discharge. His hand was truly holding lightning, "_**RAIJIN**__!_"

Everyone gaped at the sight of the K'rin's trembling right hand, engulfed in true lightning.

_What is that? _Tai wondered, straightening up.

Sora was just as confused, _Isn't that what Satsuma-sensei used to kill the masked kid?_

"There is no way!" Spencer sounded both incredulous and infuriated, "You taught him _that_?"

Satsuma merely smirked powerfully, "The reason I take preference in training Matt is this; he is practically a copy of me in my youth – a genius with enough talent to take that technique upon himself."

Matt and WereGarurumon (who readied his own glowing claw) began charging down the wall, a dent forming like a trail as Matt's hand travelled past. When he got to the ground, the strong whirring sound of electricity sounded over cracking and breaking soil left threadbare in the palm's wake.

The sandy dome sensed an alarming disturbance in the air, and shot a group of spears toward the pair, but they were swiftly and easily dodged.

Now before the shell, Matt raised his _Raijin _and thrust it into a single area in combination with the _Wolf Claw_. Achievement flooded over them as they pierced through the shell together, touching a soft object inside and stopping. They didn't want to kill Keenan, after all.

"You could clearly see the chikara in his palm! What was that?" Sora frantically sought answers.

Spencer supplied them, "A mere jab, almost a rabbit punch. It is Tekina combined with Genina at once. The rapid punch alone is bad enough, but combine that with one of Satsuma's sole original moves, the lightning generation you just saw, you get the technique used for flashy assassination; _Raijin_, the _Thunder God_."

"N-no way! No one can break Keenan's Absolute Barrier!" Daiyo tried to see reason in the reality before him; Keenan's formidable shell had been broken by an Ishida and his mongrel.

"Impossible," Tsuki softly muttered.

Even their sensei seemed to be in catatonic shock in his seat, _There has never been an incident like this… Keenan's vulnerable…!_

"_Raijin_," Spencer continued, "is the reason that Satsuma is known within the Land of Earth as 'Thunderbolt'. It is one of the most powerful techniques a human can master in the Digital World, and would easily be able to wound Ultimate level Digimon with ease. But considering the momentum needed… that's why he focused on Tekina, right? What a ridiculous technique…"

"You aren't in any position to talk," Satsuma smugly put, leaning toward Marcus, "right, Marcus?"

Sora glowed at Matt's overbearing awesomeness, "I don't really get the technical stuff, but that is an amazing technique! Just goes to show who the leader of our team is!"

Tai, still in the competitor's area, looked down with distain, _He got ahead of me AGAIN?_

As far as he was concerned, his as of yet unseen _Summoning _ability seemed rather uncool. Kaerumon looked tough, but against lightning? Even a Mega failed to compare to the awesome rating it had.

Joe was still leaning on the railing, but managed a weak smile, _So, the guy you thought you were equal with comes out with not only an Ultimate level, but a new technique… poor guy._

Matt and WereGarurumon knew they made contact; a warm liquid had spurted onto their palms. But as they went to pull out, they were pulled right back in, the sand holding them in place as a horrific scream echoed from the dome.

"I'M BLEEDING! THEY HURT ME!" Keenan cried out in anguish, showing his ten year old side as his sand dome compacted around the pair of assailants.

His greater muscle mass allowed WereGarurumon to pull out, but Matt stood in place, struggling against the sand threatening to tear his arm off.

With a roar of effort, and his partner pulling him back by the shoulders, Matt's hand re-activated _Raijin_, allowing him to slowly pull away. But the sand would not yield, a strange distortion within the sand still gripping on to him.

With one final pull amidst the crowd's silence, the sand gave, Matt falling back onto his partner as a strange arm appeared within the sand. A long, bony arm extended from the hole in the dome, black and purple muscle pulsing angrily and a large hand with talon like red fingers twitching like a fish exposed to air.

Slowly it pulled back, almost in a serpent way, as if it had no bones.

Daiyo was frozen in place, a coat of coat on his face, _Barbamon's arm… we're all going to die!_

_Impossible, even Keenan wouldn't dare act of his own accord! _Tsuki tried to lie to herself, but the hell of it was, she failed.

A low, raspy growl emanated through the shell's exposed area. Darkness suddenly seemed to alleviate for a split second as a large eye, a foul eye, came into sight through the hole. It was blood red, dilated with three pillars attaching the pupil to the outer sclera in black.

Matt and WereGarurumon couldn't even breathe, the growl sending a dark wind brushing past them.

The proctor tensed up, _What is this feeling? It's almost the same as that night when 'it' appeared…_

Tsuki and her brother thought they couldn't curl into a ball emotionally anymore, but their fears poured forth as the shell cracked, slowly beginning to soften and break apart. To their disbelief, the beast was not present. All that remained was Keenan, grasping at his dark red shoulder, blood dripping off as he looked evilly at Matt.

"I knew it, he's wounded!" Tsuki grasped at the railing, "He couldn't focus on transforming and the cocoon broke!"

Matt came down to a knee, catching his breath as air seemed to return to the arena.

He looked into Keenan's gold eyes nervously, _No… those eyes were different. They screeched in a way… they were more malicious than those… what the hell was he doing in there?_

His frantic thoughts abruptly ended as every spectator, one by one, began collapsing in their seats. Scanning the bleachers, he saw a light mist.

Sleeping gas weapons had been released by the hooded figures.

xxx

Satsuma and Spencer had greater awareness than the others.

After placing Marcus safely down, they clapped a Tiger seal together, "_Release!_"

At the calling, the gas faded. It was a Seiina, making people think they fell asleep from the gas instead of naturally. Tricking so many minds into switching off at once was high level work.

"Satsuma… what is this?" Spencer got back to back with his rival.

Satsuma growled his answer.

"What Lord Senksha and DATS feared is happening now."

Sora had also unravelled the spell, looking quickly from side to side. Everyone else was out like a light.

"What's going on?"

One of the hooded figures lay dormant after casting the Seiina, _Impressive… Terra elites are constantly on guard, it seems…_

xxx

Torune fell back in his seat, _Damn it… Kurata's cast it! Now we have no choice but to act!_

xxx

The competitor's area had also been flooded by the illusionary gas, Daiyo and Tsuki the only ones still standing as they were ready for it.

The Sandstorm girl frightfully realized, _The mission has commenced!_

xxx

Up on the Sha Tower, Hyoko narrowed his features grimly, slowly turning to face his foreign compatriot. He could tell that beneath the veil, he was chortling and giving a snide smile.

"Shall we begin, as well?" the Kukisha cryptically put, flicking his wrist and grabbing a smoke grenade as it came out. Pressing the switch, a large cloud of heavy smog concealed Hyoko and he.

xxx

The DATS teams below (in white robes and masks) shot up the building's ledges to reach the smoke cloud, "Alpha team, protect the ministers and royals, Zeta team with me to protect the Senksha! All other teams, standby!"

The radios and earpieces squawked at a hysterical pace, reports of giant Digimon assaulting the village walls coming into focus as Zeta team reached the smoke.

Two masked Tamers with daggers jumped through to ambush, but were quickly dispatched of, falling down to uncertain fates as three members of the squad observed a glum sight.

The Kukisha was holding Hyoko at knife point, and dragged him up to the Chinese tiled roof of the tower, gesturing for the team to back off. As Hyoko made no effort to resist, they stood down.

As all conscious O'rin, Sora, Matt and WereGarurumon watched on in shocked horror, four Tamers with the same clothes as Team Shindo jumped onto the four corners of the roof, clapping their hands together with grunts.

"Do it!" the Kukisha ordered the Hidden Note Tamers.

"_**Grand Fire Barrier Technique!**_"

All four of them gave exertive growls as a large purple force field enmeshed the roof, DATS forced to land and watch. The recognized this forbidden technique from past black ops missions.

If anything outside touched it, it would be reduced to cinders.

Within, Hyoko gave a light guffaw to mask discomfort, "The Sandstorm betrays us in such an unbalanced period? Are you and the Hidden Note _trying_ to instigate a world war? Unsettling the balance of power now would drag all Five Nations to ruin."

The Kukisha simply scoffed, "This age of peace is nothing more than a perpetual state of fear preventing war. By igniting fear into fury, we will advance steadily into the future. You and I, old man, are at the centre of the world right now."

"You…"

"Took you long enough. Senility must be a chore for one who was so brilliant."

xxx

After taking in the situation above combined with crashes and explosive devastation around the village, Spencer snarled with restraint.

"Nine entire traitors from DATS… no, insurgent forces sounds more plausible." _I have to deal with things here… Honey, Kristy, please be safe._

xxx

In the main arena, amidst the confusion, Tsuki and Daiyo stood before Keenan, Torune joing them to stare down Matt, WereGarurumon and the proctor.

"What have you done?" the wolfman angrily commanded.

The proctor elaborated, "It seems those rumours of Lord Senksha being worried were based on fact, after all."

The blonde remained silent, still regaining his bearings of the eyes and aura he'd seen and experienced, coupled with death and destruction around him as O'rin battled Note Tamers in the bleachers.

"Keenan, release the beast-!" Torune was cut short.

He scowled at Keenan's pained look, the boy grasping at his head.

Tsuki rubbed his back, "There's no way he'll be able to participate in this condition!"

"Idiot! Why'd you try to transform in the cocoon against a single opponent?"

Matt bolted up, _Transform? You mean that creature was him?_

"NOW WHAT? WE CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT KEENAN'S POWER!" Daiyo hysterically pointed out. He looked like he'd hide in a hole for a long time than endure this pressure.

"You guys back off," Torune ordered instantly, pulling out a kunai, "I shall stay here and hold him off." He glared at the proctor, "He's the only one that heard we need Keenan, so go. Get him to recover and then return."

"R-right!" the brother and sister pair complied, hooking Keenan and jumping off, out of sight toward the forest.

"Wait!" WereGarurumon growled irritably, looking Matt over, "Will you be alright, Matt?"

"Y-yeah."

"Is Bashiori the bastard behind this?" the proctor queried, agitated further by a death throes, blood-curdling scream.

"Who knows? Let's enjoy the party. I can't let you tail Keenan with what you heard."

"Kid! Take your Digimon and tail Keenan and the other two. It seems they're important to this attack somehow."

"What-?"

"Sorry, but the Exam is cancelled until further notice," he shot a broad smirk, "so, since you already have the power of a T'rin, I'm entrusting you with this. Now go on."

Matt was hazy on the details, but nodded, "Let's go, WereGarurumon."

His eyes flared red again, his Surugan activated and connecting his mind with the beast man Digimon's.

_With you all the way, _and with that, they began a flashy chase, quickly entering the woodland.

Sora and Satsuma looked baffled by the pair leaving, _Matt…?_

xxx

The 'Kukisha' snickered, the knife still at Hyoko's throat.

"So Keenan turned out to be less of a dark horse than I thought… no matter."

"So he's your village's-?"

"Not my village, Hyoko-sensei. _OUR _village is currently being razed to the ground, and all because you got soft in not only this pretentious sense of humanity, but in your old age. It is all over for the Terra Village."

"Ha," Hyoko scoffed acidly, "I thought I taught you and the other two how to be more careful with your words… nothing is over until it is all said and done, Bashiori."

Holding his neck tightly, Bashiori reached up and tore the mask of the Kukisha off, revealing his cold and calculating eyes, along with his fang like grin, combating with Hyoko's own omniscient smirk.

Hyoko's voice was determined and precise, "Tell me… do you honestly think I'll fall to something as mediocre as this hostage situation?"

"Of course not. But you might throw your back out, which is why you should have found the Fifth Senksha," Bashiori's tongue wrapped around the kunai blade, "because in a moment, your blood will stain those salient white robes of yours!"

xxx

"Sir?" one guard worked up conversation with Kaname as they stood watch over the far Eastern border of the Terra Village, "I've been getting told of this Bashiori… but what is he truly like?"

"He's like a messiah, or should I say _pariah_, that seeks destruction," Kaname implied, biting down on his Dango, "once, he was among the three Sansai, or Three Powers, along with Master Gennai and Lady Sukeban."

"Why did he desert and become a gun for hire?"

"Originally, he placed his name fourth for the title of Senksha, but was declined in favour of the Fourth. Ever since then, he's plotted revenge against the village that rejected his claim to glory."

"Something so petty?" the guard incredulously added.

"Well, he wasn't exactly mentally sound… he participated in two of the three Tamer World Wars, after all… he saw things that even nightmares would leave untouched. The one time I saw him, I could feel… a sort of shroud of evil… I felt revolted and repulsed at once."

Suddenly, a DATS recon agent flashed in beside Kaname, "Reporting sir! Giant Mega levels have appeared and are bombarding the Western edge and are moving inwards!"

"So he came." Kaname finished the last Dango, then stood tall, "I want all available Tamers mobilized! Have available K'rin fan out and take the villagers to the shelters! I don't want anyone slacking off!"

"SIR!"

xxx

Satsuma scowled at the group of Sandstorm Tamers beside the offending, black robed insurgent.

"Satsuma!" Spencer called, tending quickly to his son's safety, "Look at the tower! There's a barrier Genina in place!"

"What is this?" Sora whispered softly.

"BASHIORI!" her sensei proclaimed in surprise of the robust nature in this assault, _The enemy leader revealing himself in such a way?_

"B-Bashiori?" Sora had chills at the memory of Squad Seven's plight in the Deathly Forest, "Is he here for Matt again? MATT!" she looked down, but he was not there, "Oh, goodness, no…"

Two Note Tamers flickered in before her, kunai readied, but they were quickly dispatched by Satsuma's uncanny speed.

"Sora," he put sternly as he turned to her, Spencer covering him as he spoke, "listen carefully, I'm going to issue a new mission in light of the circumstances."

"At a time like this? Matt is gone!"

Spencer kicked away an assailant, "Satsuma, I hate to interrupt, but we have a crisis at hand! What should we do about Lord Senksha?"

Satsuma had no hesitation, "He'll handle it. He's stronger than you or me, even now! Just protect the unconscious from these Tamers!"

Sora was frightened; it was like a war zone, _Is the old man really all right in this? Where's Matt? Where's Tai?! What can I do?_

xxx

Tai peacefully grumbled in his stupor, having gone out like a light when the Seiina was spread.

xxx

Hyoko felt no fear at being held at knife point. He had survived worse, such as Lucifermon's assault, amongst other things. He began to see fruitlessness in every aspect of Bashiori's invasion until he felt a cold spot blanket his cheek.

Looking up, he saw the venomous, serpentine eyes laced with thin tears, an evil grin betraying them.

"Tired, my boy?"

"Well, yes, actually. How did you know it was that?"

"Hmph. I've seen the atrocities and bodies desecrated in your name… you have no emotions beside greed and lusting. And those two don't contribute to tears."

"Very perceptive. Maybe you aren't a useless old fool… meaning," he pushed Hyoko away, placing the kunai back in his pouch; he'd need every reserve he had, "this battle should be a good one."

Hyoko finally grasped it. A battle with his old sensei… how very boorish yet apt of him.

"A stagnant pool in which the fish get along… a great analogy for this world today." Bashiori threw away his false regal robes, revealing his outfit from the Deathly Forest, "But, I am a shark that will be introduced to the pool."

"You know I can't allow that."

"Big words, sensei… but can you really stop me now?"

xxx

"Sora," Satsuma turned to her again, "go and wake up Tai and Joe. You'll need them for this. I'm giving you an A Ranked mission assignment. You must tail Matt and if possible subdue the Sandstorm trio. Be wary; these are actual killers around you and I will not be there like the Land of Squalls."

"What? But shouldn't I wake Mimi up?"

"No. The bigger the group, the easier for you to be spotted in this confusion." Satsuma bit his thumb, _I'm also a little concerned with that strange energy surge from that shell…_

"_Summoning Technique!_" slapping his palm onto the unconscious audience member, Kudamon appeared, not at all disconcerted with the chaos around him, "Take care of Sora, Tai and Joe Kido. They'll explain as you tail Keenan and his siblings."

"Right!" the ferret obligatorily said, "Come on. I sense that Tai and Joe are over there!"

_Oh right! _Sora recalled, sneaking over to the competitor's area, _Kudamon-sensei is a sensor type as well!_

xxx

Hyoko faced down his former pupil in the barrier, the four Tamers focusing and managing to erect barriers within to defend themselves as well.

"Intriguing… so I can't break the barrier without fully focusing," Hyoko glanced in Bashiori's direction, "which is where you come in."

"Well, I know how you old fogies like to revel in your legends. If I remember correctly, you prefer single combat…"

"Indeed." Hyoko guffawed with wise intent. He had to be careful as he was in his white robe and hat and not in battle gear yet.

Bashiori's foot skidded, intending movement.

Too slow, "_Fire Element, Blazing Breath!_"

Hyoko showed grand skill, as the technique that usually would require thirty separate seals was reduced to a single Tiger seal, a concentrated blast of fire shooting like a pellet.

Bashiori pulled his head aside and watched as the blast was absorbed like a drop into water by the barrier.

"You singed some of my hair," he spat courtingly, "not a nice token of respect before battle."

Hyoko didn't even deem the situation worthy of a battle stance.

"Surprise!" Bashiori hysterical called, his body breaking down into mud that slopped down the tiles.

Hyoko spun around, a snake clamping its jaws shut around his neck. Bashiori landed, his tongue transformed, only for the body to turn into mud also.

His tongue back in his head, Hyoko proceeded to perform Ram, Monkey and Ox, "_Earth Element, Raging Mud Cascade!_"

Tile beneath his foe turned to mud, sliding down and taking him in like a river, to which the former pupil sneered, performing seals of his own.

"That all the legendary Tamer has to offer me?"

"_Earth Element, Bombarding Soil!_"

At the tip of the mudslide, a large bump formed, firing pellets of dirt at Bashiori.

"_Fire Element, Blazing Breath!_"

Breathing fire onto the dirt bombs, Bashiori was engulfed by flames, sinking into the river of dirt.

"Enough acting. I know that was a clone."

Bashiori calmly stepped up from the other slope of the roof, behind the Senksha.

"I was merely testing you… I see some of your prowess hasn't faded with time… shall we commence for real now?"

Throwing his hat and robe aside, Hyoko stood proudly in his battle attire. A black matte armour with woven joints for incredible manoeuvrability with little weight. He wore an Edo-period helmet with the Terra symbol embossed broadly.

Bashiori scanned the armour that had seen many battles, "A great suit for you when you're in your casket."

xxx

**A/N: **There you go. Took long enough, eh?


End file.
